


No Jizz Jutsu

by thefandomslut



Category: Naruto
Genre: Comedy, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Romantic Comedy, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:28:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 48,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27334207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefandomslut/pseuds/thefandomslut
Summary: After Kiba insists on a dumb bet while drunk at a Halloween party, he has successfully roped all the men from the Konoha 11 (and Sai) to participate in No Nut November.A slightly crack/mostly fluff fic in the same universe as my other fic 'He and I'.Usually short entries for every day of November following Shikamaru, Athena, and friends as they all struggle with a very stupid bet, as well as their everyday domestic challenges.Some events based on my own life experience.My boyfriend would like credit for the title 🙈.
Relationships: Nara Shikamaru/Original Female Character(s), Nara Shikamaru/Reader
Comments: 66
Kudos: 128





	1. October 31st + November 1st

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for clicking on my very silly NaNoWriMo project! While this series isn't really a crackfic, I'm really not taking it super seriously. Shikamaru and Athena are in an established relationship in this series and I just really love writing about their adorable/dumb domestic life.
> 
> If you haven't read He and I and would like to, here is the link to it!  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/25980451/chapters/63161806
> 
> All you really need to know is that Athena, Shikamaru's girlfriend is chronically ill, which manifests as joint pain and fatigue.
> 
> Please comment and let me know what you think!

October 31st

“I could totally do it!” Kiba yelled above the ruckus already surrounding their group.

It was halloween, and thus everyone seemed to head to the annual party held at one of the few large bars in the village. The men and women of the original Konoha 11 split into their two groups, the only other person present being Shikamaru’s girlfriend, Athena, who had been warmly welcomed into the group, and Sai. The person who had taken to Athena the most was Ino, who had taken a liking to her when she openly encouraged being an accessory to the crime of bugging the hell out of Shikamaru, also coming in handy when they went too far. Shikamaru couldn’t say no to her, thus bailing out Ino by extension. 

While Ino led the group of women in their group’s conversation, it was Kiba currently dominating the men’s.

“No. You couldn’t.” Shino responded bluntly, not even looking at his teammate. Feeling inferior in the wake of Shino’s calm demeanor, not helped by his other friends grinning or laughing at his expense, Kiba chose to make his declaration loud and clear.

“I, Kiba Inuzuka, can last a whole month without cumming!” In response, he was only met with a roar of laughter and disgusted glances from the few people surrounding their groups. “And I bet I could do it longer than any of you!”

“Oh yeah!” Naruto yelled back, always easily taking to the bait dangled before him.

“Yeah! So put your fucking money where your dick is!” Kiba said, slamming a crumpled 1000 yen note on the table. While Naruto fished through his pockets for his froggy wallet, Neji felt the need to organise the chaos that was happening in front of them.

“Wait. What are the terms of this bet going to be? You haven’t discussed anything.”

As Naruto finally slammed down his money, shaking the table and causing some of the guys to frantically save their drinks, Shino’s hand placed a matching note on top of Kiba’s and Naruto’s before the blonde had even retracted his hand fully.

“Whoever lasts all of November gets the money. If everyone drops out before the month is up, we give the money to charity or someone who needs it.” Shino spoke, staring Kiba in the eye from behind his glasses, non-verbally challenging him. “No emissions. The only exclusions are nightly emissions as our conscious mind has no control over that. We’ll have to go off honesty, so if you lose, be a man and admit it.”

Silence fell over the group, each male watching the pair, Naruto trying to awkwardly participate in the staring contest he hadn’t been invited too. 

“I will do it too!” Rock Lee proclaimed, putting his own money on top of the growing pile.

“So will I.” Neji responded, making Lee beam with joy at the prospect of now being able to face his rival in this trivial trial. Sai slipped his money in without a word, excited at the prospect of being a part of his first ‘bet’ with friends.

Giving into the unspoken peer pressure, Choji was next to lay his money down. The group now turned with judgemental expressions towards Shikamaru, who slightly jolted at the synchronised attack. 

Taking a glance towards the group of girls, blissfully unaware of the stupidity going on between their male counterparts, Shikamaru zeroed in on Athena. She had chosen to wear a tight black dress, seamed stockings and black high heels giving the illusion of her being taller than she was. Obviously having felt his gaze on her back, she turned to smile at him, her blood red lips, complete with a trail of fake blood starting at the seam of her lips and running down her chin, seeming to mock him as she grinned before turning back to the animated conversation going on between the girls.

“Uh, I don’t know guys.” Shikamaru replied, not quite being able to wipe the small smile from his lips, no matter how hard he tried to play it cool, like a smile from his girlfriend didn’t still make his stomach fill with butterflies.

“Oh come on! You’re such a fucking simp.” Kiba started, taking another swig of his drink when he should’ve been cut off by now. “Man up and tell her no!”

Shikamaru was quick to raise an eyebrow and smirk back. “So I’m less of a man because I don’t tell my attractive girlfriend ‘no’ when she begs me to break her? Interesting.” He quickly received a round of roaring laughter from the group as he chugged the last few sips of his drink and turned to see Athena start swaying back and forth on her feet, a sign he knew meant that she was probably near the end of her rope for the night.

Slipping away from the guys as they continued shaming Kiba until he was an aggressive, flustered mess, Shikamaru went to the bar to pay his and Athena’s part of the tab. It didn’t take long after he leaned against the counter, waiting for the bartender to serve someone else, that he felt small arms wrap around his waist and someone placing their forehead against his back. Stretching his arm back, signalling for Athena to move to the space under it, she unwrapped herself and popped her head under his arm until she was snuggled against his chest, arm falling down over her shoulder.

“I wanna go home, Shika.” Athena whined, looking up at her boyfriend with weak puppy eyes, making the man chuckle down at her before dipping to kiss her forehead.

“I know, baby. The hardest part will be getting the guys to let me go though, so you might have to wait a few minutes for me to work my way out of that mess.” Shikamaru responded, turning his body so he and Athena could both peak at the boys table. They had apparently been watching the couple, as once the pair locked eyes with the small mob, Shikamaru received varying degrees of childish gestures from all except Choji who just tipped his head at his best friend as if to say ‘would it really kill you?’.

Turning back and looking down at Athena, her eyes looking back with a confused expression as Shikamaru sighed, seeing that the bartender was still occupied with the drunker patrons.

“They’re all doing ‘No Nut November’,” and as soon as the sentence was out of his mouth, he had to loosen his grip around Athena’s shoulders as she threw her head back and cackled, only making his smile broaden to take up most of his face.

“And you said no? Ugh, my boyfriend is such a  _ drag _ .” Athena mocked, her cackles quietening down until they were small spurts of giggles. However, they stopped when she felt Shikamaru’s mouth against her ear. 

“I’m not worried for myself, baby girl. I’m worried my whiny little slut won’t make it through the first week.” Pulling away, he nearly had her under his spell, but Athena wasn’t that great at backing down from a challenge either, especially when she was a little tipsy like she was now.

“I can! Plus, I’m not doing it, it’s you and the guys. I can cum whenever I want!” And Shikamaru would’ve thought over the consequences of how his girlfriend getting off without him would affect him, but he was interrupted before his inebriated mind could start working.

The bartender finally strolled over to the couple, Shikamaru taking his arm back from Athena, giving her the time to wonder what the time was. Catching a glimpse at a clock on the back wall, she smirked and innocently waited. As soon as the bartender walked away, before Shikamaru could even put his wallet back in his pocket, Athena grabbed his arm and pulled it flush against her, being sure to bracket the limb between her breasts, shoulders coming down to squeeze them firmly around his arm. Giving a swift tug brought her boyfriend down to her height, too distracted by his arm suddenly being held hostage between her boobs to notice her other movements until she had her lips against his ear, using his own move against him.

“If we leave now we could get a quick fuck in before midnight.” She gave him a moment to glance up at the clock himself before continuing, “Though I don’t think we’ll make it home in time, so I guess we might have to… take some risks.”

Shikamaru groaned quietly under his breath, far too affected by his girlfriend’s whispered ideas that he whispered back at her to wait for him by the door before he split off to return back to his friends.

They had obviously been waiting and watching, probably planning to accost the couple as they left in a last ditch effort, and anyone could tell that they were surprised Shikamaru was even returning to the table. They were even more stunned when he slipped his own 1000 yen note on top of the table before leaning on Choji’s shoulder, the friends wrapping their arms around each other’s back, for a moment, waiting to see if the group had anything else to say before he officially left.

“Well, I suppose that is everyone.” Neji proclaimed, looking at the pile of money as if this was the first time he had really considered what he had just signed up for.

Shino reached for the money, “I’ll keep watch of the money, if that is agreeable to everyone. All of us gave 1000 yen each, so there is 8000 yen in total.” Having received a nod from everyone, Shino did a quick count of the money before pocketing it. “We’ll officially begin at midnight.” 

No one seemed to notice the last sentence Shino tacked on, already beginning to fight again about who would win, but he hadn’t said it for the benefit of the rest of the group. He said it because his chair faced the door, giving him a clear view of Athena trying to keep her glances at Shikamaru casual as she rubbed her thighs together.

Shikamaru made his way back to Athena, slipping his hand into hers and giving it a squeeze, smirking down at her as they left their friends behind.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It didn’t take long for Shikamaru to decide on an appropriate enough alleyway, tucked away so that any passerby wouldn’t notice the young couple furiously making out in the shadows. 

It didn’t take long for Athena’s lipstick to smear across both of their faces and for Shikamaru’s fingers to wrinkle slightly from the slick that they were now drenched in.

Holding her close as they both panted, becoming lightheaded as their lungs only took in each other’s used air, Shikamaru did a quick check over her body as he bent down to take her underwear off, taking an extra moment to lick some of the wetness that had trickled down her thighs as he pocketed them.

“Does anything hurt?” he asked, knowing that even after all their time together, Athena still had to be prompted to complain about her invisible pain once her brain was lost to adrenaline or arousal.

Whimpering at his question and from the feeling of him still pushed against her as he slipped his trousers down far enough to reveal his thick, hot, pulsing cock, she tried to force words out of her hazy brain in some understandable manner.

“J-just my knees and my, ugh, my feet.” Already feeling her nails dig into his shoulders, he took the information given to him and quickly bent down to grab her thighs and pick her up, pushing her firmly against the wall as he held his cock and started rubbing her clit with the head, Athena getting a better grip on his shoulders as she continued whining and begging.

Laughing breathlessly at her, pushing his forehead harder against hers, he pushed in and kissed her to stop the beginning scream that came from her throat. He didn’t feel the need to ask if she was ready, her tired body trying to move against him and her pleads of ‘p-please, Shika, please!’ being more than enough to tell him that she was desperate for him to move. 

“Shhhh, c’mon baby, you gonna be my good little slut, hmm?” were the last words either of them said, Athena only responding by furiously nodding and letting her head fall forward on to his shoulder, before Shikamaru swiftly pulled out and then harshly back in, enjoying the groan he heard from his borderline limp girlfriend. Knowing that they didn’t have that much time, he continued pounding into her, letting his lips press and bite against her neck as he felt her cunt drip and tighten around him. 

As Athena tilted her head back up to look Shikamaru in the eye, eyes watery and her lips pouting as she felt her body tense, letting him know that she was close. Using a hand to push her head back to his shoulder before getting a firm grip back on her thigh, he whispered nonsensical praises into her ear as her whimpers got louder until she came around him.

Fighting against her over sensitive body pleading for a break, Athena sunk her nails into his roots, just under his ponytail and pulled. “Please, please fill me up, Shika. I need you inside me. Please!” Her words, combined with his hair being pulled, was all it took to get Shikamaru to fall over the edge, filling her up with his cum as he released the growl-like groan.

Pulling out, but still holding Athena as she got her breath back, the couple shared brief kisses while he continued to hold her up against the wall. Once she was able to breath semi-normally, Shikamaru carefully placed her down, smiling softly when she groaned at the pain of having to put her weight back on her high heels. Retrieving her underwear from his pocket and helping her pull them back up her legs, having her wear them as a slight barrier to stop his cum spilling out of her too quickly, he pulled her into a tight hug, laughing at her arms not even lifting to return the gesture.

Silently turning and squatting slightly so Athena could jump on his back, he picked her up, taking her shoes off one at a time and passing them to her to hold for the journey back, the couple walked back through the village hearing a few old fashioned clocks chiming as it hit midnight.

November 1st

“Fuck, I feel like shit.” Kiba moaned, sitting in the staff room with Naruto and Sai as they awaited their assigned missions. “I also woke up this morning with wood. Ugh, shoulda jerked it last night.” Naruto hummed, his head hurting as well, and for once feeling too exhausted to talk. Sai, who had only had a few sips of Lee’s watered down cocktail, was happy to sit and observe his friends in this unusual state.

Seeing Shikamaru walk in with some pain killers, going about making himself some tea to take them with, Kiba squinted at him before feeling the need to question his behaviour.

“Hey, man, how’d you sleep?” Turning to acknowledge Kiba, having not actually noticed his friends, he shrugged before answering.

“Okay, I guess.”

“Must’ve been  _ hard  _ leaving your lady this morning, huh?” Shikamaru could almost hear Kiba’s wiggling eyebrows in his tone.

“No. Pretty much just a normal morning.”

Kiba watched him as he took his pain killers before taking the rest of his tea and heading towards the door, Naruto now watching him leave as well.

“Seriously? Nothing?”

“I guess I just had a better night than you.” Shikamaru responded, being sure to send his friends a smug smirk as he left, closing the door behind him.

Kiba sat and looked at eachother, confused looks upon their faces until they both shrugged and lent their heads back against the chairs again.

It took a few seconds for Sai to think before making his comment.

“I believe Shikamaru and Miss Athena left the party before midnight. They could have had sexual intercourse during that time before ‘no nut november’ officially started. Perhaps that’s what Shikamaru was referring to?”

The speed at which Naruto and Kiba both lifted their heads in shock, caused them to then place their heads in their hands, both suddenly feeling the need to throw up, regretting their actions the night before.


	2. November 2nd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For readers who haven't read 'He and I', you also need to know that Athena has a cat named Eros who kinda just always sticks by her. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

November 2nd

Shikamaru walked home from the Hokage’s Tower, hoping he’d catch Athena still having her daily afternoon nap, desperately wanting to curl up around her and keep her warm now that the winter chill was beginning to manifest.

Kicking his shoes off at the door, he didn’t say a word as he listened for the sound of the TV, or Athena’s pen furiously scribbling along the pages of her notebook. Sometimes he’d come home and the sound of the door opening would be all he needed to get an answer, hearing a squeal and a loud ‘ _fuck!_ ’ coming from within the house as she got pulled out of her absent minded daydream as she heard the door open and shut. Those times were his favourite, because as he would toe off his shoes and take his vest off, he was sure to hear a quiet, and slightly embarrassed, ‘ _Hi honey…_ ’ from wherever she sat, waiting for him to walk out before he responded with an equally quiet ‘ _Hi baby_ ’ as he leant down to kiss her.

After not hearing any of those noises as he walked in, Shikamaru got a small boost from the fact that he’d left work early enough to catch the tail end of her nap. Walking down the hall towards their shared bedroom, trying to keep the soft padding of his bare feet quiet against the hardwood floor as he approached the bedroom door. Ducking his head in, he smiled as he saw Athena’s naked form curled around her large body pillow, her feet sticking out slightly from under the duvet, while her face was nearly covered by it, her fist clutching and pulling it towards her to keep her warm. Behind her head was Eros, who lifted his head from his tightly curled up form, eyes squinting from being pulled from sleep, tail lifting slightly to show he was happy to see his new-ish father figure. 

The feline moved his head as he watched Shikamaru get undressed and slid into bed with just his underwear on, only tucking his snout back behind his paws when Shikamaru curled his arm around Athena and pulled her lower half flush against him, trying to keep her head undisturbed to allow Eros to stay curled up on her pillow between them.

Shikamaru had only been asleep for roughly 30 minutes when he awoke from having felt Athena’s body moving. Noticing that Eros had left in the time he was asleep, he shuffled closer and tangled his legs together with hers, his thigh rising to be just under her groin. As his thigh grazed her, he did become slightly annoyed that he couldn’t wake her up by pleasuring her, moving her clit along his tensed muscle, even if he hadn’t intended to when he moved closer to her.

Trying to go back to sleep, hoping his warm body would settle Athena down as her body shuffled around, moving from deep sleep to light. He softly let his head fall between her shoulder blades as he internally groaned at feeling her core shuffle further towards his thigh, feeling her wetness begin to transfer on to his thigh. He slipped his hands under and above her to hold her hips on instinct.

Any normal day (Read: month), Shikamaru would start kissing Athena’s neck to start waking her up, only moving her hips against him if her unconscious body was struggling to do it itself. But as soon as Athena was awake enough to talk, usually alerting him by moaning and giggling, calling for him, he’d thrust his hips forward to push his hardening bulge against her ass, while simultaneously rubbing his thigh roughly against her clit.

Hearing the telltale first moan slip from behind her lips, her hips moving slightly, Shikamaru nearly gave in, the only thing that stopped him was his masculine pride. As much as he loved Athena, and loved ravenging her, the testosterone filled competition between the guys made him stay strong to the temptation in front of him. He wasn’t quite ready to let the guys know how easy he caved at the mere thought of getting his dick wet by being inside of his lover. He wanted to give some illusion that he was the alpha in their relationship, even though many people could tell that, while they were equals, the scale tipped a little more towards Athena’s side, knowing that if Athena batted her eyelashes and told him to jump, Shikamaru would say ‘how high?’. Every time.

Feeling her hips being held tightly, probably causing her skin to bruise lightly, and Shikamaru’s head still laying against her spine, Athena let out a half-asleep whine. 

“We can’t, baby.” Shikamaru whispered, moving his head as Athena turned towards him, glassy eyed from her eyes being freshly opened from sleep, he used his grip on her hips to help her turn to face him, being sure to move his thigh away from her.

“Why? I want you.” She was going to kill him. Shikamaru could feel it.

“The bet, sweetheart.” watching Athena’s eyes become more focused, probably now remembering the bet as the fog cleared from her mind, she pouted and groaned. “I know, I want you too, but you’re kinda roped into this with me.”

He started playing with her hair, tucking the stray bits from her bun that had fallen out back behind her ears as she grumbled into his chest. He had to ask her to repeat herself, her sleepiness still making her mumble and jumble a few words together.

“You suck.”

Her big pout as she said it made Shikamaru have to push her away slightly to give himself room to laugh heartily at her, smiling broadly when he turned to face her again and saw a matching smile now on her face.

“I know. Would I suck less if I invited you to join me for a shower?” Receiving a cute little nod as his answer, Shikamaru pushed himself up onto an elbow and leant forward to give Athena a kiss on her forehead, leaning a little lower to swipe his nose against hers affectionately before moving out of the bed and into the adjoining bathroom. 

Turning the shower on and checking the temperature to make sure it was warm enough, he peaked back into the bedroom just in time to watch Athena get up and stumble her way over to him, giving Shikamaru an unintentional show of her nude body.

Letting her step in first as he stepped out of his underwear, he sighed halfheartedly before he got in the shower and held Athena from behind, immediately making her burst into a fit of giggles.

“Don’t say a word.”

“I didn’t say shit about your hypocritical boner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: Eh, I'm only planning for this entry to be about 500 words, maybe it'll end up as 600  
> Also me: 1123 words...


	3. November 3rd

The staff room was void of any other shinobi from the village other than the main Konoha 11 squad (with Athena and Sai becoming unofficial members). Athena had tagged along as she had some papers to return to the archives and she wanted to be able to hang out with her friends (and Shikamaru) for as long as she could before whatever they’d all been called for took up their time. The only person missing was Kiba. Shino and Hinata didn’t have any idea where he was, which didn’t affect the group much, knowing he’d show up eventually, but it didn’t stop at least one of them from checking the clock every few minutes.

Just as everyone was finishing their conversations, watching the time tick closer to when they would head up to the Hokage’s office, Kiba burst in, Akamaru trailing behind until he could break free from behind his owner to run over to Hinata for pets. 

All eyes faced him, noticing his red face and how he kept wiping the sweat on his hands off on his jacket.

Shino was the first to speak up. “Why are you late?” The way Kiba immediately stuttered, trying to come up with a reason for his tardiness, everyone knew something had happened they probably didn’t want to know about, but after waiting so long for him to arrive, the curiosity permeating around them was too much to bear. 

“H-hey, stop lookin’ at me like that! I just woke up late!” 

“So, you didn’t take Akamaru for a walk this morning?” Athena questioned, Shikamaru sipping his tea with a smirk hidden behind the cup's rim, knowing exactly where her train of thought was going.

“Of course I, uh, didn’t…” Kiba replied, trailing off, feeling like a mouse being battered between a cat’s paws, but not really knowing how. He knew what his secret was, but he thought he’d be in the clear if all Athena was worried about was Akamaru’s wellbeing.

Leaving her chair to go wrap her arms around Hinata’s shoulders to be closer to Akamaru, who was still enjoying being scratched, Athena spoke to the dog as if she was a detective in the famous parlour scene, the others in the room just watching it all unfold.

“Hey boy, did you go for a walk today?”

“Bork!”

“Yeah?!” She received another happy bark before continuing.

“Good boy! Will you answer one last question for me?” Another bark, and Akamaru even placed his paws on Hinata's legs to be closer to the woman praising him.

“Yeah? Thanks boy! Now, did Kiba cum this morning?” Akamaru’s affirmative bark covered up the sound of Naruto spitting out his drink, the pup being rewarded by Athena actually leaning over the chair and giving him a rough scratch behind the ears, being sure to praise him in a sweet baby voice while the rest of the room burst in a slew of questions and laughter.

Stepping back and watching Kiba try to explain himself made Athena’s day, so she retired and went to stand next to Shikamaru, mirroring his smile back at him as she leant on the counter beside him. While the others were continuing to laugh at Kiba’s embarrassment, Shikamaru took the moment to subtly nudge Athena’s elbow with his, getting her attention.

“I love you.” He whispered to her, a soft smile on his face before he went back to his tea, receiving the gift of Athena’s school girl giggles in return, watching her as she beamed with pride at being inadvertently praised by her lover, and the smartest person in the village.

Everyone quietened when a chunin came to the door to tell the large group that the Hokage was ready to see them. When the door closed behind them, Shino was the first to get up as people got up and stretched or chugged any liquid left in their cups, going to pass by Kiba, only stopping as they stood shoulder to shoulder, facing the opposite directions.

“‘I, Kiba Inuzuka, can do a whole month without cumming.’ That’s what you said, right?” and with that Shino walked away, the others following and continuing to tease Kiba as they passed him.

Staying behind so he could be the last to leave, still hearing the group shouting at each other as they went up the hall, Shikamaru put down his cup and gave Athena a kiss before asking, “Everything you were hoping it’d be?” Athena rolled her eyes back and moaned before answering. 

“Ugh, it was fucking  _ perfect _ . I can go a little longer without your dick if I can keep feeling like this.” She smiled, hearing Shikamaru’s chuckle as he shut the door behind him, leaving Athena alone to cackle at her victory.


	4. November 4th

November 4th

Shikamaru was incredibly used to Athena talking through movies, and he actually enjoyed it quite a bit. Hearing the line of thoughts that ran through her brain was something he found endearing, listening to her talk passionately about whatever was happening on screen.

So when Athena decided it was movie night, he was all too happy to agree. 

They set up the blankets, made themselves drinks (the drinks usually being weird, fruity cocktails that Athena had thrown together), and bought snacks to lay out of the table. Sometimes a cheese platter if it was a special occasion. 

The movie in question could turn out to be anything. Some history documentaries Athena had been desperate to watch, which Shikamaru usually fell asleep too. A drama with too many twists and turns that made Shikamaru react wildly as the pieces of the puzzle came together in his mind, while Athena sat with her brows furrowed in confusion for so long that she usually went to bed with a headache, never understanding the final twist at the end.

And then very occasionally, they’d watch something their friends had recommended to them. Tonight was one of those nights.

At the halloween party, while the boys were being boisterous and lewd, Shikamaru now learnt that the girls were doing the same, just on a more intellectual level. Sakura was shocked to learn that Athena had never read Make Out Paradise, and told her she should at least watch the movie, citing that the male protagonist was incredibly attractive. While the other girls agreed, Tenten made sure to warn Athena of the sequel, Make Out Violence. When Athena asked why, apparently the group split about whether what was depicted was a toxic relationship or not. Athena, mostly wanting to go home at this point, said she wouldn’t make any decisions until she had seen it herself, ever the academic.

So here sat Athena and Shikamaru, sitting beside each other with Athena’s legs thrown over his lap, him absentmindedly massaging her feet and calves with his available hand, about to watch an erotic film. Shikamaru had worried about whether watching a movie full of sex scenes would be too much for him, but after teaching a few classes of young children about kekkei genkai (turns out the big ‘mission’ they had been sent on was to help teach at the academy) for most of the past 48 hours, he honestly felt too exhausted to have sex, even if he could. He was pretty sure he’d fall asleep on the couch anyway, but he was happy to if Athena wanted him to be with her while she watched the movie.

A quarter way through the movie, Athena was already in full swing, already having had to pause the movie a few times so she could rant loudly. It was clear why the debate between the girls had happened, and every point Athena made just made Shikamaru want to see all these opinions unleashed upon his friends next time she saw them. The problem was that when she gave opposing examples to make her points, they usually began with ‘like that time we…’, followed by a full rundown of a previous time they’d had sex. Throughout the entire movie, Shikamaru just kept getting harder. It was becoming almost painful and he was so tempted to touch himself, thinking that he’d be okay if he didn’t cum. He just wanted some relief.

When there was only 30 minutes left of the movie, Athena had decided to make herself another cocktail, noting that she’d put an extra shot in to get her through. Shikamaru tried to calm down while she wasn’t in the room, spreading his legs as much as he could, putting his arm over his eyes as he breathed deeply, starting to feel himself soften. Until Athena screamed.

“oh, FUCK!”

“Are you okay?” Shikamaru said, leaning forward and listening carefully in case he needed to quickly run to the kitchen to help her.

“No, I just spilled shit and I’m mad.”

“Okay,” he chuckled back, staying quiet to listen to her groans and swears as she cleaned up whatever mess she had made.

Shikamaru felt better, thinking he’d be able to get through the rest of the movie until he could make it to bed and just collapse. But then Athena walked back into the room, having taken off her pyjama pants. So now Athena stood in the doorway, wearing only his shirt and a pair of underwear that showed off her ass, watching with confusion as Shikamaru groaned and banged the back of his head against the back of the couch.

“Honey, baby,  _ please _ go put some pants on.”

It didn’t take long for Athena to put the pieces together, even letting her eyes dart to his groin to see the tent growing in his sweatpants.

Trying to mask her laughter, Shikamaru heard her jog to their bedroom, quickly returning with a new pair of pants covering her.

Going back to her seat beside him, she tucked her legs up on the couch and squished herself against him and reached her hand up to rub his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Shika, I didn’t think about how it’d affect you. Do you wanna just turn it off and go to bed?” Covering his eyes with his hands to center his thoughts, releasing a yawn before he responded.

“No, I’ll stay and watch it with you. You’ll be upset if you don’t see the end of it and get bested by Sakura and Ino because of it.” Athena hummed, knowing it was the truth.

“Still, you can go to bed and I won’t-“

“No, you’re cute when you’re mad and I’m not missing it. Just play the fucking movie, ‘thena.”

Leaning forward to grab the remote and play the movie again, Athena smiled as Shikamaru put his arm around her waist and pulled her back towards him, pushing her head down to lean on his shoulder.

The rest of the movie went by without too much more verbal commentary from Athena, most of her reactions being physical. For example, eyes squinting in annoyed confusion, pulling at her hair with stammered complaints not fully forming from her mouth, and reaching over to grab at Shikamaru’s hand, both of them squeezing as they watched the protagonists continue to be together by the end of the movie. Both turned to the other to hear their opinion now that the movie was over.

“I’m so mad.” Athena stated, folding her arms and making a point of frowning deeply.

“I know, baby.” Shikamaru rubbed at his partner’s hand with his thumb after he pulled her in for a quick squeeze of a hug. “But now I  _ need  _ to go and pass out.” He left, leaving Athena smiling on the couch before she got up and followed him into the kitchen.

He walked in seeing her previous pair of pants now spinning in the washing machine, obviously being a victim of the spill from Athena’s drink, which still sat, untouched, on the counter. Deciding that he’d help Athena finish it off, Shikamaru took a sip of the cocktail, only to scrunch his face up as he swallowed, now being watched by Athena as she held her hand out, obviously wanting to finish it as well.

“Babe, that is more than just  _ one  _ extra shot.”

“Yeah, I decided to add two. I was angry.” Athena replied, sticking a straw in the concoction and beginning to drink it as if it was a milkshake.

“I know, I just didn’t realise you were  _ that _ angry.”

“Yeah, but sometimes you never notice how pissed I am at you, so don’t ever say I’m not good at restraining it.” Athena finished her drink and placed it in the sink, walking past Shikamaru as he furrowed his brows and thought back to the past few arguments they’d had. His erection was well and truly gone as he thought over instances of Athena’s seething, being sure to follow her to their room before she made a move to retaliate for him only realising now all the fights he could’ve avoided blowing up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you couldn't tell, I kinda based Make Out Violence on 50 shades of Grey. I could definitely imagine them sharing similarities.


	5. November 5th

“And I didn’t even think about what he was feeling! He suffered through the whole movie for me and I feel so guilty,” Athena sighed, still with a smile on her face as she took a sip of her drink.

The girls had made it a tradition to try and get together for lunch once a month or so when everyone was in the village at the same time, which is where they all were now.

Ino, Sakura, and Athena started ‘debating’ over whether or not Make Out Violence was romantic or not very early on, with Tenten telling them they had to stop once their food arrived. Sakura backed out quite quickly when faced with the first few points that Athena had made, but Ino stuck around for a while, maintaining her argument about how misunderstood the male protagonist was. Athena eventually broke Ino down when she started using her own ‘examples’ of a healthy relationship, making up fake names to attempt to hide Shikamaru’s identity. Sakura, having connected the dots after Ino had admitted defeat, was all too keen to bring up what Shikamaru’s take on the film was. And so now they’re all here, Athena feeling a little bad that she was laughing at his expense.

“Don’t be guilty, it’s their stupid bet.” Tenten stated, obviously going through the same sort of things Athena was going through, but with Neji. Athena nodded and took a few more bites of her food before Ino had thought up what questioned she wanted to ask next.

“So in the same scenario, but he’s not doing this stupid bet, how would Shikamaru usually react?”

“Ino, whenever you ask about Shikamaru’s sex life, you always regret it.”

“I know, but I don’t get how you’re getting laid every night by literally the laziest person I know!”

“I mean, he’s definitely not lazy with me,” Athena bragged, smirking at herself as the other girls laughed at Ino’s disgusted face. “So, do you still want me to answer that question?”

Ino nodded, even though everyone could tell she was conflicted about it.

“Are we factoring in him being tired? Because that kinda changes his mood a lot.” Ino nodded again. “Hmm, well, if he’s tired, that’s usually when he kinda just wants a quickie, so he’ll usually prep me throughout the rest of the movie either by eating me out, or making me grind on him. Or, I mean, sometimes he’ll just want to cock warm and then move me when it becomes too much for him to sit still any longer.”

Ino was about to comment, saying that she had heard enough, but Sakura was quicker and butted in. “Oooo, and what about if he’s not exhausted?”

“Kinda the same. He usually likes teasing me, so he’ll make me try to tell him what’s going on in the movie while he’s between my legs.” Athena shrugged, finishing off her food before she folded her arms on the table and leant forward to continue answering the others. 

“Does he do that often? Uh, e-eat you out, I mean?” Hinata asked, her face blooming with blood, making her cheeks a bright red.

“Yeah, he likes it and it helps my pain with the extra endorphins flying around, so on average,” She paused to think. Ino slumped in her chair and thought about just leaving to avoid hearing whatever came out of Athena’s mouth next, but she stayed, her curiosity getting the better of her. “Maybe every second night? If his work isn’t too rough for the week, more like every night, mostly because he likes making me cum a few times before doing anything else.”

Tenten sat with her fingers holding her temples, “I have so many questions.”

“Do you ask him to go down on you, or does he just do it?” Sakura asked.

“He just does it. Obviously he asks me first, but he’s always the one to initiate it.”

“How does he ask you?” Everyone turned to Hinata for a second, surprised she was so involved in their conversation, enough so that she asked a question, but happy she felt included nonetheless.

“Umm, depends. If I can’t sleep or my pain is bad and he wants to do it just to help me out, it’s kinda just a normal question. ‘Would you feel better if I went down on you?’, ‘can I make you cum so I can feel like I’m helping?’, that sorta stuff. If he just wants to because he can, he’s much more, uh,  _ aggressive _ about it.” Athena paused, making sure the others actually wanted to hear the dirty details. The others prompted her to continue, while Ino was slowly slipping further down into her seat, peeking through her fingers as if it’d help filter out Athena’s words.  “I mean, I’m kinda embarrassed to say it now, but it’s usually like, ‘I’m not moving, so you better come sit on my face.’ if he’s already comfy on the couch or in bed. Or, if he just wants to tease and overstimulate me, he’ll say something like, ‘you wanted to cum, so now you’ll cum until I say otherwise.’. 

Athena finished talking, her face and ears feeling hot just thinking about the things he’d say. The girls were all looking at her with various levels of surprise on their faces. 

“Well shit, guess I should’ve paid more attention to him in the academy,” Sakura joked, smirking at Athena from across the table.

“At least you had a chance! I didn’t meet him until the chunin exams, and I was a whole year older than him!” Tenten and Sakura both laughed about their comments, Athena quickly joining in, Hinata doing the same but not as open and gleefully as the others.

When they quietened back down, every one looked towards Ino, who still hadn’t said a word.

“You okay, Ino? Sorry if I was too graphic,” Athena apologised, putting her hand on Ino’s shoulder.

“No, it’s not your fault. It’s just, ugh.” Ino stopped to drop her head in her hands before abruptly standing, “I’m just gonna go home.”

The women still sitting at the table tried to hide their laughter while they said goodbye to her, deciding to not make it any harder on her. Ino was nearly at the door of the restaurant, until it was opened first by Shikamaru, who gave a smile at seeing his teammate.

“Hey In-,”

“What are you doing here!” Shikamaru stood shocked at the hostility he was getting from her, but answered anyway.

“I’m on a longer break than usual, so I was going to walk ‘Thena home.” Ino’s face developed a deep blush on her cheeks, thinking too deeply about his motives for escorting Athena to their shared home. Not knowing what to say next, now having heard about another side of her lazy childhood friend, she pushed passed him and left, leaving him to scrunch his brows together, looking over at the table she had just left for an answer.

What he saw was just four women trying desperately not to burst out into fits of laughter. Athena had to cover her mouth and try to breathe through the urge to cackle loudly, her erratic breaths making her look like she was hyperventilating. If she wasn’t surrounded by the others, and knowing by their reactions that they had something to do with Ino’s sudden change of attitude towards him, Shikamaru might’ve thought the same.

Athena quickly had the last sip of her drink before standing up and going around to give them all a quick hug, knowing that she’d probably only see them again once they could schedule their next meet up. They all said their goodbyes, but Sakura couldn't stop herself from teasing her friend.

“Have fun~!”

“I wish.” Athena responded, playfully rolling her eyes before giving one final wave at the group before turning and heading towards the door with her partner, hands intertwining as they walked.


	6. November 6th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't feel too good about this one, but I hope you enjoy it all the same

November 6th

Shikamaru had told Athena this morning that he probably wouldn’t be home that night, and not to wait up for him. These nights were always the hardest for her as her insomnia always flared, the lack of Shikamaru’s incessant need for her to not get up and down throughout the night always triggered it back to how it was before they moved in together.

The first few weeks of sharing a space were rough on both of them, trying to learn to accommodate the others sleeping pattern. Shikamaru would always get woken up by Athena as she got up to wander around the house, causing his REM sleep to continually be disturbed, leaving him tired enough that Kakashi had subtly kept him off external missions until the couple adapted. 

On the other side, when Athena would lay next to Shikamaru, laying still in his arms as his chest rose and fell against her back, her anxious brain would go wild, over thinking until early into the morning. And on Shikamaru’s days off, she wouldn’t tell him why her eyes were red and puffy, lips swollen from chewing on them to keep herself quiet. She didn’t know how to tell him that the dead silence caused thoughts, with no logical justification behind them, to bloom in her head. So she just didn’t.

The night Athena got up and slept on the couch was the night Shikamaru couldn’t let her excuses go anymore, immediately missing her body next to him once she wasn’t there. Sitting down on the floor behind the couch, Shikamaru listened as Athena stayed laying on the couch, not wanting to face him, crying and stammering out every insecurity she had that’d kept her up and was slowly driving her insane. 

It took them a month to adapt to each other’s sleep patterns. Shikamaru started staying up to talk with Athena in bed for an hour until she got tired, Athena learnt to relax and settle down when her body kept telling her to toss and turn, never finding comfort until her body had fully exhausted herself.

But now, when it was just her and Eros, she lost track of time, staying up reading or working until the early hours in the morning, and then going to bed out of obligation as the sun started peeking out over the horizon, her brain still far too awake to be able to lay still in a dark room. The empty house was lifeless at best, and frustrating for her at worst.

Athena couldn’t stand the lying awake, the cold bed, the emptiness that filled the room without Shikamaru’s quiet snores, or his whispers when he woke and scolded her lightly for still being awake. After a few instances of her lover not being able to come home at night, sometimes for multiple days at a time, she had made a habit of touching herself on his side of the bed, her face turned into his pillow and closing her eyes to give her some stimulus. She wasn’t sure if he knew, it wasn’t a secret, but she’d never mentioned it.

It always worked though. She’d always be able to drift off, her thighs and fingers slick, body splayed diagonally across their bed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Shikamaru hadn’t known about the methods Athena used to be able to sleep without him there. He just assumed her body had adapted enough to sleep through the night, even when he was absent. The only difference he’d ever notice when he’d get home was how his pillows had been moved closer to the center of the bed, Athena’s head usually rolling between his and her pillow.

When he walked through the door of their home, sometime just after 3 o’clock in the morning, he tried to be as silent as possible as he took off his shoes and his vest, only making a detour to pet Eros, who was curled up asleep on the couch. It made him pause, as Eros always slept in the bedroom, and whenever he came home while Athena was napping, the feline always sat on her pillow or on his side of the bed. Approaching the door to the bedroom, he noticed it was closed, another thing that was unusual in their household.

Hearing something on the other side of the door, Shikamaru leaned in and smirked, recognising the sound immediately.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Athena was starting to get too exhausted to continue. Her fingers were cramping, her elbow starting to ache from being held in one position for too long, her legs hurting from her constant need to move them as she tried to get her fingers in deeper within herself. Her throat started to hurt as well from her harsh breaths and loud moans. 

Finally deciding to give up on trying to reach that one spot inside of her, that Shikamaru always knew how to rub in just the right way to make her cum over and over again, she rubbed her clit wildly, crying out as she came. The orgasm was a little disappointing now that she had been spoiled by how Shikamaru could manipulate her into having orgasms that made her feel like she’d pass out in the best way, but it was enough to make her tire her body and her brain out enough to go limp against the mattress. Pulling herself up onto her knees with the last of her strength so she could reach the door handle, just taking it off the latch so Eros could wander in, she fell back, pulled up the duvet, and closed her eyes.

With the door already open, and Athena already starting to doze off, she didn’t hear Shikamaru push the door open, having taken his clothes off in the hallway bathroom to not disturb her and to spare himself the temptation to join in, until the duvet was pulled back slightly and she felt a warm washcloth between her legs. Sleepily peeling her eyes halfway to check that the person with his hand between her legs was her lover, she smiled as he used his other hand to brush back a few stray strands of her hair before using it to hold her cheek as he leaned down to softly kiss her.

She felt him leave to put the washcloth away, giving her time to roll off of his side onto her own before Shikamaru slipped in beside her, pulling her in towards his chest, both of them quickly drifting off to sleep.


	7. November 7th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something short and sweet!

November 7th

“So, how is Shikamaru holding up?” Sakura asked as her and Athena walked side by side down the road towards the hospital.

“I mean, there have definitely been moments where he’s had to step back and, uh, ‘calm down’.” Athena giggled. “But it’s only been one week. He could still go either way.”

“And how are  _ you _ holding up? Are you participating in solidarity?”

“Oh god no, I’m not into torturing myself for a whole month, but turns out going from having a  _ very _ active sex life to nothing at all is still pretty painful.” Athena felt safe talking to Sakura about these things, knowing that she wouldn’t judge her for them. And in most cases, unlike Ino, actually enjoyed being able to discuss their sex lives with each other, which was something Athena needed sometimes.

“I mean, you can at least cum as many times as you want at your own pace. Shikamaru’s not able to gate-keep your orgasms from you.” Sakura was embarrassed the first time Athena glossed over the topic of kinks when all the girls had been together once, but now she felt she could probably give a good description of what Athena liked and didn’t like without thinking too hard about it. And she was sure Athena could do the same for her.

“See, that’s the thing! I was only able to cum once last night when I tried to cum before I went to sleep. And it didn’t even feel that good, unfortunately.” 

Sakura also enjoyed talking about Athena and Shikamaru’s relationship, still finding it hard to remember that the guy who nearly flunked out of the ninja academy was now very comfortable, and apparently very good, at being the dominant partner in their relationship.

“Do you think Shikamaru’s spoiled you too much? Has he ruined you for even yourself?” Trying to sound like she was asking a serious question, Sakura couldn’t hold in her laugh when Athena faced her and bit her lip, a faux guilty expression on her face. “That bad, huh?”

They walked for a few beats in silence, as Sakura thought, before coming up with a partial solution. “Maybe the way you masturbate has changed since you’ve gotten together? Maybe you need to masturbate  _ more  _ to try and figure out what you like after so long of not having to do any of the hard work?” They continued to giggle together, Sakura suggesting techniques or positions Athena could try, they arrived at the hospital, but they stood outside so they could finish their conversation.

“What about you? What gets you off?” Sakura paused to think about Athena’s question, not noticing as a pair of people rolled through the doors behind them.

“Well, it was only a few months ago that I learnt that touching my breasts makes me cum sooo much quicker.”

“Oooo, did you learn that after you hooked up with that one guy?”

“Oh god, if only I could find a guy who could absolutely  _ rail me _ like that every night, I’d marry him in a heartbeat,”

“Uh-um, Sakura.” Before Athena could make a witty comment in reply, they were interrupted by Rock Lee, who looked a little pinker than he usually did. “Lady Tsunade asked that I came and told you that your patient had arrived.”

“Oh, right. Sorry Athena, I have to go in.” Sakura said, pulling her friend in for a quick hug before she jogged inside, calling out ‘see you later, Lee!” over her shoulder. Lee gave a quick wave in her direction, which she didn’t see, before turning to see Athena, forgetting she had been there. From her wry smile, Lee knew that she knew he had overheard them. He wanted to bow down and apologise profusely, feeling like all of his blood had settled in his face and was about to burst from all the heat beneath his skin. But before he got the chance, Athena interrupted his imminent breakdown.

“Just try not to think about her like that.” And she turned to walk away, feeling slightly guilty that she’d probably just single handedly kicked Lee out of their ‘competition’ because when someone tells you to not think of a pink elephant, you’ll  _ always _ think of that pink elephant.


	8. November 8th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinda indulged in showing of their relationship today  
> Also, new chapter of He and I is up today!

November 8th

“Hi babe,” Shikamaru greeted, pulling Athena in for a quick kiss before opening the door ahead of them, holding it open with the tips of his fingers as she walked in after him. “Do you have everything you need?” Holding her thick folder, filled with a mess of hand written notes and archival files, up above her head slightly, Shikamaru nodded in acknowledgement before continuing to bustle about the large meeting room they were in, giving orders to other shinobi that surrounded them.

Athena looked around for somewhere she could stand out of people’s way and was relieved when she saw Ino and Choji reach their hands up to beckon her over. Trying to avoid bumping shoulders with people as she moved her way through the small crowd, she received a few confused looks from others, some even trying to look her body over.

She knew she stood out. The pencil skirt that she couldn’t run in, her high heels that caused her to wobble subtly when someone did bump into her, and most of all, her lack of shinobi headband, or any symbol showing her place within the village.

As she finally reached her friends, she looked over her papers within her folder again, not noticing the people still turning to look her way, some making lewd comments which made Ino and Choji turn to each other and exchange a look. 

The reason no one knew her was that, as Konoha’s resident historian, she spent a lot of her time in the archives or doing any assignments assigned to her from the comfort of her kitchen table, so most people hadn’t even seen a glimpse of her in the building before now.

Slowly, people started to file out once the large, round table had been set up, sheets of paper laid out in front of each chair. Ino nudged Athena with her elbow, showing her how to stand correctly so the line of people that now stood against one of the walls in the room all stood uniformly. 

Today, the feudal lords that ultimately controlled the Land of Fire were coming in to be briefed on the state of the village and to go over trade relations, and while Athena had been dreading it, she did now feel powerful standing between the Ino and Kiba, the representatives of the the Yamanaka Clan and Inuzuka Clans respectively, and while she knew she stood out amongst them, she was confident that she was still their equal. 

Shikamaru had warned her how boring these meetings could be, but he also told her how beneficial and important they were. And when Kakashi had asked her to be there and prepare detailed notes for the meeting, she was all too eager to be involved.

However, her excitement began to wane as soon as the Lords and the Village Elders walked in, trailing after Kakashi, sneering at how many of the most respected clans in the village had sent their children in their steed.

As the meeting got started, Athena couldn’t stop her attention being pulled towards her partner, who was standing tall behind Kakashi, occasionally giving him information when the Hokage asked for it. When Kakashi called for her, requesting she give the Lords her documents, she stepped forward and started walking around the table, giving a brief summary of her notes.

Shikamaru watched Athena as she went, biting back a smile as he watched her in her element, showing off the passion and intellect that made him fall for her. From his place at Kakashi’s side, he also had the best view to notice the Elders, as well as a few of the Lords, frowning or scrunching their faces in disapproval, obviously aimed at Athena, who they followed with their eyes until she stopped and stood next to the Hokage on his other side.

Not even touching the papers in front of him, one of the Lords immediately spoke up. “Nara, care to summarise this?” And while Shikamaru had so many remarks he wished he could say, he decided to keep the peace for now.

“I believe the document in front of you details the concerns of the other towns and communities within the Land of Fire, as well as any traditions or cultural attitudes that need to be considered when making decisions concerning them. But as Miss Athena was the writer and researcher for those documents, I’d direct any further questions towards her.” 

“Tch, you really expect me to believe any of the information she gives me? Look at her, she’s not even dressed like a shinobi!”

“Actually, m’lord, I believe that my being a civilian has led others to be more comforta-” 

“I wasn’t talking to you!” Kakashi would have spoken out and asked the Lord to respect his staff, but from how tight Shikamaru’s fists had gotten, his nails biting into his skin to keep him focused, he thought he’d just sit back and act surprised when his advisor spoke back.

“Show her some respect,” Shikamaru drawled, sounding like he wasn’t imagining punching the man now gaping back at him. “She has gone out of her way to do your work for you, since during the last meeting you couldn’t even remember most of the names of towns that you sworn to protect.” The man just stammered back, shocked, ironically, at the lack of respect he was being shown. “And if that truly isn’t enough for you to see her as she is, I’ve asked her to represent the Nara clan today so I can focus on my work with the Hokage.” 

Athena desperately wanted to turn to Shikamaru with an incredibly confused look on her face, eyes wide at his comment. Yes they had discussed their future together, and that she’d take the last name Nara, but no, he had not mentioned representing his clan at all. But to her credit, she stood perfectly still as she listened, not even sending a smirk or a snigger towards the man now looking between his other Lords for back up.

Kakashi put his elbow on the table in front of him, resting his jaw in his hand, partially covering his mouth, just in case his mask didn’t conceal his smile. He did have a bit of a sweet spot for Athena and Shikamaru’s relationship, especially enjoying moments like these where Shikamaru used every ounce of his exceptional intelligence to stick up for Athena, while making statements that made it hard for the person he was scolding to counter back.

The Lord, not finding any allies among his equals, quickly focused on the documents in front of him. 

“Thank you, Athena. You can come back if they have any questions.” Kakashi said, dismissing her so she could stand beside her friends again and breathe.

“Thank you, sir.” And while anyone in the room would’ve said that she was thanking the Hokage, the way Shikamaru did a quick scan of the room, looking for anyone to be looking towards them, and the way Athena’s eyes fluttered up to meet Shikamaru’s as she said ‘sir’, it was very obvious to their friends that there was a sexual undertone that definitely wasn’t directed towards Kakashi. And if they had really missed the signs, Shikamaru’s quick wink towards Athena, followed by her subtle, sudden intake of breath, should’ve made it very clear.

Walking back towards Ino, standing back in her previous spot, hands returning to behind her back, Ino gave Athena an amused smile, Athena knowing that Ino was referring to her sudden promotion to Head of the Clan. On the Shikamaru’s side, he watched her settle back into her spot, making sure that she didn’t give away some sign of distress now that she was out of view, but after he was sure she was okay, Choji caught his eye sight. Choji raised an eyebrow at his friend, silently commenting on the dominant energy Shikamaru felt the need to give off, causing Shikamaru to face forward again, the tips of his ears burning red.  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After all the higher ups had left, including Kakashi, the young clan heads gathered around to comment on the meeting between each other, Shikamaru quickly taking his place beside Athena and wrapping his arm around her waist. Most of the conversation was them talking over one another, but Shino cleared his throat and called the attention towards him. 

“I just felt I should make it known that Rock Lee has now also dropped out of the competition. We ran into each other on my way here and he told me.” Immediately Kiba rejoiced that he wasn’t the only one anymore, before Shino quickly pointed out that Lee had at least lasted a full week. And while everyone was enjoying watching Kiba try to direct the attention away from him and towards Lee, who wasn’t even there to defend himself, Athena’s glance up towards Shikamaru, complete with batting eyelashes, told Shikamaru that Athena definitely had something to do with Lee dropping out, and he was eager to leave so he could find out what.


	9. November 9th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISABLED PEOPLE HAVE SEX TOO!

November 9th

It had taken a while for Shikamaru and Athena to figure out each other's bodies. Where they liked being kissed, squeezed, spanked. What they needed to say to make the other cum in seconds, and what they needed to feel satisfied. The largest hurdle they needed to overcome was Athena’s body.

She had had many encounters with people that had left her having to stay in bed for a week to recover. She had sometimes felt like she would die from how hard her lungs and heart were working after the amount of exertion she had put them through. But then, she had also had times where she never came, or where after her body had finally calmed down, she was more than ready for another round, while her partner was either asleep, already gone, or was too scared from watching her body wind down that they wouldn’t touch her again in fear of killing her.

But  then she met Shikamaru : he always asked how she felt, encouraged her to stop him if she just needed a minute to breathe, and then made sure that she got everything she needed when he did aftercare. After so much trial and error, there was no one who could compare to  being with each other , and they happily discovered how high Athena’s libido could reach when she was treated properly.

Which led to Athena, distracted while working, replaying Shikamaru’s wink in her head over and over. And before she knew it, her brain took that small gesture and ran with it. She had been sitting at her desk for about an hour now, propping her head up with her hand, staring at nothing as she daydreamt. Apparently her body had reached its threshold when it came to not having a good orgasm, it  had gone 9 days without, giving her every sign imaginable that it was lonely and sexually frustrated.

Athena had drifted so far into her daydreams of Shikamaru taking her right on that meeting table yesterday, growling at the blurred faces, making it clear that she was his and that he’d lash out at anyone who treated her less than, that she didn’t even hear the front door close.

Shikamaru tried calling out that he was home, but heard no response. Assuming she was napping, he went further into the house and nearly walked past Athena at the table, still surrounded by documents and notebooks, and still  blissfully unaware of her surroundings.

Deciding he’d have a little fun, he stood behind her and bent forward slowly, making sure she still didn’t know he was there. When he was sure she didn’t sense his presence, he quickly lent forward and bit the junction between her neck and shoulder.  Because he hadn’t bitten hard, and  how the bite was intended to be more childish than arousing, he was shocked when Athena let loose a breathy moan, her upper body falling forward while her hand made a fist that slammed down loudly on the table.

He still stood behind her, still close enough to her body to watch her body tense up in front of him, obviously embarrassed by her reaction. It’s like a switch had been flipped in his head as he softly grabbed Athena’s ponytail, wrapping it around his fist, and gently used his grip to encourage her to sit back in her chair. Taking a slightly firmer grip on her hair, he bent down so he could whisper into her ear, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

“You’re still so needy even after the other night? After I came home to you cumming?”

“It wasn’t good.” As much as a switch in Shikamaru had flicked on, so did Athena’s, immediately feeling smaller as he stood behind her, her voice becoming meek as she answered him.

“Hmm? Can’t you cum without me anymore?” Another small tug to her hair, making her gasp.

“N-no, Sir.”

“Good girl. Now, will you behave and only do what I say?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Then go to the bedroom and wait for me.” Shikamaru finished, releasing her hair and pulling her chair back so Athena could stand. She always felt awkward at this bit. Should she run? Was walking, and pretending you weren’t about to get your brains fucked out, too slow? Her choice was always to just walk a bit faster, as if she was in a slight hurry, and Shikamaru had never commented on it, so she assumed it was fine. Walking into their room, she left the door open and listened, sitting up on the bed, smiling when she heard her lover feeding Eros so he wouldn’t bother them.

Hearing Shikamaru walking down the hallway towards her, her teeth immediately captured her lip. When he came in and saw her sitting there, waiting patiently, both of them knew the other was buzzing, feeling like they hadn’t seen or touched each other in months.

Athena felt like her eyes had become more focused, noticing his muscles moving under his skin as he pulled his shirt off, removing the thin mesh armour, but leaving his pants on. She suddenly felt like she was being stalked as he turned, smirking at her as she unintentionally squeezed her thighs together, feeling her breathing become shallower.

Placing his hands on the bed, Shikamaru used his body to push her down onto the bed, leaving him on top of her as they locked lips, him biting lightly on her bottom lip so he could suck on it before he pulled away. Athena’s pupils had already expanded to take up the majority of her iris, eyes wide as she stared back at him. A committed little sub, desperately waiting to see what her dom had in store for her next. 

Tugging at her thighs until she was on the edge of the bed, he slowly took her pyjama shorts and underwear off, keeping his eyes on her upper body as her chest rose and fell. Shikamaru grabbed her chin with one hand and used his other to slide his arm right under the swell of her bottom.

“Do you need to tell me anything?” 

Athena quickly shook her head. It was a good day, and she hadn’t left the house at all, so none of her pain had flared to a noticeable level.

Giving her one more quick kiss in response, Shikamaru picked her up, securing her with both arms as he moved to sit against the headboard, splitting his legs and making Athena kneel on the bed in front of him. In this position, Shikamaru was able to look up at her, but he could tell that, even though she could lean forward and take control in the position she was in now, she still wanted to please him. The period of time between when they’d last had sex to now had obviously made her so desperate that any thought of being a brat had been quickly wiped from her mind.

Reaching out to touch the back of her thigh, he smirked as she let out a whine, closing her eyes, feeling overwhelmed with the sensation, reacting like he’d trailed his fingers through her slit. He did feel bad for her if she was this wound up, and he knew the longer this went on, the larger the temptation would grow to be inside of her.

Pushing Athena’s right hip while also pulling her left shoulder towards him, Shikamaru spun her around for her to sit between his legs, facing away from him, the show of strength making her panting pick up again. He slid his left arm up under hers to grab her right breast, pulling her to be flush against his chest, perching his chin on her shoulder and listening to the pulse in her neck beat against his ear.

“Colour?” 

It took a second for Athena to respond, her brain already beginning to slow.

“G-green…” She gasped, face flushed and leaning further into Shikamaru’s chest.

“Good girl, now show me how you touched yourself.” 

Out of his peripheral vision he saw her bite her lip again as she ran her hand over his thigh that lay beside hers, before moving it to her cunt, two fingers dipping in to collect some of her slick before beginning to rub gentle circles around her clit.

“You’re so pretty, baby.” Shikamaru whispered into her ear, rolling her nipple between his fingers at the same speed that Athena was using on her clit, the fabric of the shirt she was still wearing providing added friction. 

“What were you thinking of? Were you thinking of me?” 

The moan that he got in response made him groan in her ear, causing her to whimper. If his goal wasn’t to make her cum hard and fast, he would’ve grabbed her wrist to stop her moving. Might’ve even wrapped his hand around her throat, a punishment for not using her words to answer him. 

Watching Athena as she moved her fingers down to slip inside herself, whining already, knowing how short her fingers were and how they could never reach where Shikamaru could. He watched as her head fell to lay on his shoulder behind her, eyes scrunching closed, and starting to make small sniffling sounds, obviously getting frustrated and sad that what she was doing wasn’t working. 

Shikamaru turned his head to press his lips against her cheek, kissing the plump skin before beginning to talk to her.

“Baby. Sweetheart. Colour?” He whispered against her skin, changing his tone back to his usual pitch, not wanting his ‘dom voice’ to make her feel like she needed to push past her limits.

“Yellow.” Yellow meant something’s wrong. I’m stressed. I’m hurt. I need a minute. With the bottom line always being, ‘I’m not ready to stop, but I need help’.

Pulling Athena’s hand away by her wrist before lacing his fingers with hers, her slick coating his own fingers, he waited until her pounding heart settled, breathing deeply to encourage her to do the same. When the fog had cleared enough from her mind for her to speak, she leaned her head against his.

“I-i, I just wanna cum. Please, Shika.” 

“Okay, pretty girl. Promise you’ll tell me if you need another break?”

Receiving a nod from her, a tear running down her face from the gesture, he moved their linked hands and removed hers so she could grip on to his thigh. His hand moved between her legs and waited a beat to check Athena was okay before slipping his fingers between her lips.

He started off slowly stroking her clit, occasionally doing a figure 8 and enjoying her moan at the sudden change each time. When her quiet moans started getting more frequent, he slipped his middle and ring finger inside of her, feeling her body stretch to accommodate his larger, longer fingers. When he began thrusting them back and forth between her, making sure to softly bend his finger tips against her g-spot, he chuckled lowly at the white cum that was already coating his fingers, having to bite his lip to not chuckle again when he felt her tighten around his fingers.

As she got louder, whimpers and moans leaving her mouth with every exhale, he went faster, curling his fingers up to now rub harshly against that spot inside her. He felt her clench around his fingers, her back arching slightly away from him, his grip on her breast holding her in place as she spasmed, her legs shaking and moving as she came with a guttural groan. He loved hearing that noise.

Unlike the few videos of porn he watched when he was still a teenager, Athena’s voice wasn’t ‘pretty’ or ‘cute’ when she came. It was from deep within her, the pleasure being so all consuming that her body just released whatever sound came out past her vocal chords. It was the sexiest noise he’d ever heard, every moan being better than the last.

As he slowed the thrust of his fingers, stretching out her orgasm, he couldn’t help himself from being a bit selfish. Athena had gotten to cum, so he felt he should get something out of it too. 

When Athena’s breathing had gone down enough that her heart and lungs didn’t feel like they’d burst through her rib cage, he slowed down just enough to get his index finger to join the others before he started thrusting the now three fingers deep within her. Hearing her moans get louder and breathier just made him go faster, hooking his fingers to press harshly against her g spot and catching them on the front of her pelvic bone as he thrust back, stopping his fingers from slipping out or having to slow down. He pressed the heel of his palm against her clit, Athena’s squirming and weak thrusting grinding her clit against it.

Finally hearing her release a broken scream, Shikamaru watched as she squirted over their thighs, his hand, some even reaching her shirt, a few wet dots adorning it now.

“Red! Red!” Pulling his fingers out immediately as she became overstimulated, pressing his whole hand across her groin, helping the buzz of her nerves settle to focus on the pressure he was now applying across her whole vulva. He also pushed his thighs under her legs, bending his knees so her legs were up higher than her head, helping the blood drain from her pelvis and legs towards her heart and brain. They both lay still, Athena slowly gaining control of her breathing again while Shikamaru wrapped his free hand around her stomach, giving her the best hug he could give in their position.

“Shika?” He hummed in response to her raspy voice, keeping his voice low to not break the mood. “I’m ready.”

“Okay, baby. You did so good.” Shikamaru kept muttering praises to her as he slowly untangled himself so he could grab the things she needed for her aftercare.

When he opened the door, Eros was at the end of the hallway, obviously waiting for them to emerge, quickly getting up so he could run to the bedroom, intent on checking on Athena.

Shikamaru went to the kitchen and grabbed all the things Athena needed. A glass of juice, complete with straw so she didn’t spill or dribble it on herself, a bag of salty potato chips, and lastly, a warm washcloth.

When he arrived back to the bedroom, he stood in the door frame and watched as Athena made kissing noises, Eros presenting his forehead in response so she could plant a kiss on the top of his head.

Shikamaru enjoyed the calm within the room, aftercare almost being his favourite part of having sex together. He caught her attention when he moved forward, placing the juice and the chips down on her bedside table before easing Athena’s legs apart and wiping away her sweat and cum, removing her shirt while he was there.

Athena pushed herself up on her weak elbow so she could sip on her drink, watching with heart eyes as Shikamaru removed the duvet from around her before getting a new one, thankful that her cum hadn’t gone through to the sheets. 

"Hey Shika,” he dramatically sighed after hearing his name, turning to face her, putting his hands on his hips, his face sarcastically saying, ‘what other demands do you have for me?’.

“I love you. And I’m sorry about,” Athena gestured towards his cum soaked pants and the obvious imprint his dick was making within them, “all of that.” 

Shikamaru just sighed again and smiled at her before he went to the bathroom, knowing Athena had a little adrenaline high that’d last a few minutes before she fell asleep, giving him enough time to quickly shower.

Just before he fully closed the ensuite door, he popped his head back out.

“Just so you know, if you hadn’t tapped out, I would’ve had sex with you.”

“FUCK!” He smiled as he heard Athena swear as he shut the door behind him, also hearing the giggles that followed it, surprised her raspy voice was able to produce any sound at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, didn't want to put it directly in the story since it wasn't relevant, but Athena definitely has a shelf of her own potato chips (Athena's condition actually requires she have a higher intake of sodium. I know. Wild.) and then they have potato chips in another spot which Choji can have.   
> Athena also definitely uses 'They're prescription!' to stop Choji from eating her supply


	10. November 10th

November 10th

When Athena and Shikamaru left their home to go out to get some food, they hadn’t really expected that  Team 8 would be joining them.

The couple had just wanted to have a reason to get outside while Shikamaru had the day off, both of them still feeling all loved-up from the previous night’s activities. And while the cafe they had settled on did seem to be a popular date location, they didn’t really consider their outing a date.

So when Kiba had run up to the pair and asked if they were, in fact, on a date, they both looked at each other before saying, ‘no’. They quickly realised their mistake as Kiba, who was closely followed by Shino, started pushing tables together and grabbing seats so they could join them. 

Shikamaru was about to scold the boys, telling them that he and Athena still wanted to be alone, but he was interrupted as he heard a small voice call from the entrance.

“Shika!” He didn’t have much time to turn around before Mirai jumped upon him, tightly wrapping her little arms around his neck while Shikamaru  tried to get a better hold on her. 

Athena made sure to wave at Kurenai and Hinata as they walked in, quickly stopping any apologies Kurenai was going to make about ruining their ‘date’. While their new companions looked through menus, Athena couldn’t stop herself from watching Shikamaru as he listened to Mirai, hearing all about her day between big intakes of air, her lungs still too small for all the talking she was doing.

Feeling her eyes on him, Shikamaru looked towards Athena and gave a soft smile towards her, which prompted Mirai to look her way as well, releasing a loud gasp as she looked over. That tended to always be the reaction Athena got from the little girl as she saw her coloured hair, but she was still struggling to learn and remember her name, but Athena didn’t mind. Every time Mirai forgot her name, Athena got to watch as Shikamaru tried to re-teach it to her, eyes bright and happy as he faced her from across the table.

“Do you remember who that is?” Shikamaru asked, tilting his head to be at her eye level as he pointed across the table at her. Mirai filled her cheeks with air, puffing them out as she tried to remember Athena’s name.  Trying her best to be sneaky, Mirai pulled Shikamaru a little closer to her and used her hand to cover the space between her mouth and his ear, whispering to him. As soon as she stopped speaking, Shikamaru did the same and whispered back. Athena pretended to not have noticed their little conversation going on, acting surprised when Mirai shouted “Athena” back at her before Shikamaru had even put his hand back down.

“Ah! You did remember!” she exclaimed as Mirai moved her arms back to Shikamaru’s neck, obviously very excited that she had gotten the answer right.

Kurenai leaned back in her chair and happily watched as the couple interacted with her daughter, catching the small glances towards each other and remembered when Asuma and her used to do that, also thinking no one noticed as they did it.

“Hey, we’ve got food!” yelled Kiba as he walked back with Shino, carrying multiple trays of drinks. Athena was shocked that she had been so caught up in watching Mirai and Shikamaru react that she hadn’t noticed when the boys left the table, but it didn’t stop her from turning back towards them to continue staring at them.

“Oh, guess what! Shino’s out of the competition!” Kurenai watched on, at a bit of a loss after seeing the reactions that came from Kiba’s statement. Shikamaru and Athena had immediately turned to look towards him, disbelief obvious in their faces, while Hinata turned bright red next to her.

“I didn’t see the point. I lasted far longer than your three day streak, so I didn’t see any point in making myself suffer for the rest of the month.” Athena was quick to actually get up and snap her fingers in their faces this time.

“Okay, that’s it. We’re not going to talk about it anymore. Got it?” After receiving nods from both boys, Athena sat back down just as Mirai called across the table.

“Kiba! Can I go see the puppy!” She was obviously excited, already standing back on the floor, Shikamaru’s hand holding hers being the only thing stopping her from running off. Akamaru had to be left outside because of how small the cafe was, which left her desperate to see him again after their long 10 minutes apart.

“Sure!” But Mirai was quick to shoot Kiba down as he went to stand up.

“No, I want Shika to take me.” She moved to hug Shikamaru’s arm while also sticking her bottom lip out as far as she could, leaving Kiba with no other option than to nod, deflating back into his chair as Mirai dragged Shikamaru outside.

Athena hadn’t noticed that she had watched the two of them walk away with a dreamy look in her eyes, head propped up by her hand, until Kurenai laughed.

“It’s a lot seeing your man with a kid, huh?”

“Is this how you got pregnant at 25?” Athena responded, beginning to laugh along with Kurenai as she nodded.


	11. November 11th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't tell if I hate this chapter, or if it's my favourite.

November 11th

Athena wasn’t that pleased when she opened her eyes and saw that the sun hadn’t finished rising, the few rays of light streaming through the curtains carrying a light blue hue, but it didn’t take her long to feel what had woken her up so early.

Behind her, with his arm still wrapped tightly around her waist, Shikamaru was rutting himself against her ass, the mumbled words he whispered towards her making it clear to her that he was still asleep.

She now had a difficult decision to make. Would she wake him up and tell him to stop (or to climb on top of her), or would she let him cum in his sleep, providing him with some relief after staying abstinent for so long. She thought back to when Shikamaru had gone over the terms of the competition with her, recounting how Shino had said that cumming in their sleep was allowed, though Shikamaru had mostly complained about Shino’s overuse of the word ‘emissions’ when he told her. Thinking for a little longer, Shikamaru still moaning in her ear, Athena decided to just let him cum and pretend she had slept through it, knowing Shikamaru would be slightly upset if he couldn’t drop out of the competition on his own terms.

Not being able to sit still while her lover continued humping her body, but also not wanting to wake him up at all, Athena slowly moved her arm down her skin, trying to slowly slip her hand between her legs. After a few attempts at trying to subtly part her thighs to slip her arm between them, she was successfully able to wiggle her fingers down to her sex, the flesh already swollen and wet at the small possibility of having his dick thrust within her.

Gently petting her clit, she closed her eyes to focus on Shikamaru’s tight grip on her tummy and the soft whisper of his moans from behind her. She didn’t really want or need to cum, but the sensation of touching herself was nice considering the situation she was currently in.

It didn’t take much longer before she felt her lover grind harder against her, his moans becoming raspier as he came between them. It also hadn’t taken long for Shikamaru to lose the tension in his body as his grip around Athena relaxed, followed by his soft snores. 

She tried her hardest to not laugh, her hand covering her mouth to try to keep herself quiet. The feeling of his cum and damp underwear against her skin was a lot worse than she thought it would be, and made it too uncomfortable for her to even consider going back to sleep.

Turning her head to look at the alarm clock on Shikamaru’s bedside table, Athena saw that it was nearly 7:30am, giving her half an hour before it started ringing to wake him for work. Being relatively awake after what had just occurred, she decided to slip out of bed and have a shower to wash the semen off of her butt before she went to the kitchen to wait patiently for Shikamaru to wake up, eager to see what his reaction would be to the mess he had made.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Athena sat on the kitchen counter sipping on a glass of juice, still wrapped in her towel, when she heard the alarm go off. It was followed by Shikamaru’s telltale morning groan at the idea of waking up, the continuous ringing only making the feeling worse. She nearly spat out her juice when she heard him groaning in disgust, followed shortly by ‘No! Eros! Off the bed!’, which was then immediately followed by the feline scampering out to the kitchen, taking up his position next to Athena on the counter. Her and Eros then spent the next 10 minutes idly chatting/chirping to each other while they waited for Shikamaru to get out of the shower and join them.

When he did emerge, towel wrapped around his waist and hair still laying straight and damp against his back, he came carrying a bundle of sheets, blushing brightly when Athena raised her glass to him as he came closer.

“So, have a good morning?” She asked as he stuffed the laundry into the washing machine, receiving a blank look in response. When he stood up he moved to stand in front of her, splitting her legs apart as he stood between them and dropped his head into Athena’s chest, wrapping his arms around her waist while she cradled his head, stroking her fingers through his hair.

“That hasn’t happened since I was around 14.” Shikamaru muttered, obviously incredibly embarrassed.

“Hey, at least you’re still in the competition since you didn’t break the rules?”

“I don’t wanna do this anymore.” He sighed, lifting his head when he felt Athena perk up at his statement.

“I mean, I’m right here, and we’re already naked,”

“I have to get ready for work,” both of them took a glance towards the clock to watch it count down a few seconds more until he had to leave, “And if I’m getting out this stupid competition, I’m taking my time with you.”

They smiled at each other before they leaned in to give the other a soft, lingering kiss before Shikamaru turned and headed back to the bedroom to get dressed, Eros quickly sprinting in front of him to get his attention.

“Yes. You can get back on the bed, Eros.” Taking a quick look back towards Athena to see her affectionately watching as Eros ran away after their brief interaction, he followed their ‘son’ into the bedroom, smiling as he saw Eros already loaf-ed in the middle of the bare mattress, almost seeming to smile back at him.


	12. November 12th

November 12th

Shikamaru was able to leave work early that day, meaning he was also able to join Athena for her afternoon nap, something he greatly missed when he had to work late. They were already both curled up in their bed, facing each other and whispering between them, not wanting their voices to become louder than the fall of rain against their window.

“So you’re still not dropping out?” Athena asked, pouting at her boyfriend.

“No, I’m sorry, baby. Still feels too early.”

“Who has to go before you’re willing to drop out?” Athena asked, bumping her nose against his, causing him to smile at the needy undertone of her questions.

“Hmm, the people still in besides me are Naruto, Sai, Choji, and Neji.” Shikamaru rolled on his back to think, leaving his arm open for Athena to cuddle into his side and lay on his chest. “I don’t want to give in before Naruto does, ‘cause you know what that’ll do to his head.” Athena hummed in agreement, starting to get sleepy from hearing his voice and having his scent permeating every breath she took. “I might drop out when Choji does, but I don’t really know.”

“Why are you still in it anyway?”

“Because I like having you beg for me,” Shikamaru gripped her waist and held her firmly against his side, squishing her body as close to him as possible to make her squeal. “And I guess I just feel like I have to compete with the other guys because of how seriously they’re all taking this; I gotta come out on top and all that shit. It’s a drag, I know.”

“Well I can be on top if that’s the problem.” Athena moved to try and see Shikamaru’s reaction, smiling brightly as he looked down at her.

“I feel like I should start writing down all of the ways you’ve teased me in the past week alone.” Athena moved her head back down to lay over his heart, already knowing that looking in his eye while he said his next statement would be too much for her. “Did you think you’d get away with it since I can’t punish you like I usually do?” The way his voice dropped an octave, teamed with his fingers gently running through her hair. The suspense of not knowing if he’d continue to brush through her hair or grab it in his fist made Athena feel light headed in the best way. 

“Just wait until I can properly get my hands on you,” Shikamaru’s voice went back to his normal pitch as he spoke, making her feel like she was just a toy for his amusement. “You’d better rest now while you can, pretty girl.” But she couldn’t say she wasn’t excited at the thought of being his cute, little plaything.

Athena went to roll back over so he could spoon her, but Shikamaru stopped her before she could. “You know if you really want me to drop out I will, right?” He asked, leaning in to softly kiss her lips before she had the chance to answer.

“Yeah, but I don’t really want Ino to win either. She’s started calling us rabbits.” Turning over to lay on her side, Athena could feel the small puff of air on the crown of her head as he snorted before he curled his body around her form, drawing patterns on her stomach as they both were lulled to sleep by the rhythmic sound of the rain outside.


	13. November 13th

November 13th

It was official. Athena had finally filled up all of the available bookcases in their home. She had tried as hard as she could to pack as many books as possible into the available space, some books  had even become part of the interior design in the other nooks and crannies of their apartment . So Shikamaru decided to give up his one free day that week to completely rearrange their apartment, turning their one small guest bedroom into an official office for Athena, complete with a single wall lined with shelves for her ever growing library. When Shikamaru pitched the idea to Athena, he hadn’t intended to do it so soon. He had only been swayed by Athena’s offer to make his favourite mackerel dish from his mother’s own recipe, even though she absolutely hated the smell of fish, as a show of gratitude. 

Athena had already gone through all of the books she had and put some aside to donate, the ones she kept were stacked in tall piles in the corner of their bedroom, away from any small dangers that could harm them. This left Shikamaru, accompanied by Choji, to remove the furniture out of the room before they covered one of the walls with long planks of wood. He and Choji had done small repair jobs as kids when their dads decided they needed the entertainment, so they felt relatively comfortable making a few shelves. 

Shikamaru only had two problems when he had started that morning. The first was that every time he second guessed what he was doing, his mind immediately thought of asking his dad for help, meaning that each time he remembered why he couldn’t, he had to stop what he was doing and  compose himself, wiping away any stray tears that had sneaked out of the corner of his eyes.

The second was that their apartment building had finally turned on the heating for the winter, only for them to quickly discover that due to faulty wiring, all the apartments became hot boxes that wouldn’t be fixed until the next day. This left Shikamaru topless,  stripping down  because of the sweat accumulating,  now only  in the thinnest pair of sweatpants he could find as he continued to work. Athena had already assured him that he didn’t have to keep going, that he could leave everything as it was and continue when the heating had been fixed. Shikamaru wanted to stop, but then all he could think about was how troublesome it’d be having stray furniture and planks of wood in their living room until he got the chance to continue.

Shikamaru was currently alone in the apartment, drawing marks on the walls to give an idea of where each shelf would go. It was difficult doing it by himself, but Athena was out getting ice cream while Choji had gone back to his own place to get a change of clothes.

Deciding there was no other way to accurately put each mark on the wall with just the measurements in his head, Shikamaru made two shadow clones to help him. Having the clones hold up a side of a plank each while he measured the distance between them, making sure the guidance marks were straight, made the job significantly easier to get done.

The trio of Shikamarus were marking up the last shelf when they heard the door open and close.

“Hi, honey! I’m home!” Hearing her voice echo down the hallway made the three of them smile, trying to finish up their task quickly so Shikamaru and Athena could take a break together while he waited for Choji. 

“How’s it going, sweethe-” 

All three Shikamarus had heard Athena’s voice and turned their heads to see why she had abruptly stopped. When they saw her in the door frame, they immediately locked onto her face. Seeing her eyes open wide, her lips parted slightly  and the rising flush on her cheeks gave away what her immediate reaction was when she first saw them. When she noticed how they were all looking at her, matching smirks on all three faces, Athena didn’t say anything, she just turned and walked back down the hallway to the kitchen. When she got there she leaned over the counter, resting her head on the cold stone and closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind. 

She was thinking about how she could already feel how wet she was between her legs before she was violently turned around and placed on the counter, legs dangling over the edge. Athena looked at Shikamaru as he stood between her legs, shirtless, sweat glistening down his torso, the outline of his cock obvious in his grey sweatpants. 

She had just opened her mouth uselessly, still at a loss as she thought of what to say, before she felt a hand weave its way up into her hair, starting at the nape of her neck, and a chapped pair of lips against her neck, immediately going for the spot on her neck that made her moan loudly, beginning to suck and bite the flesh there. She had closed her eyes when both clones suddenly touched her, but she opened them so she could see her lover’s face. He smirked at her, watching her head lull side to side as the tight grip on her hair moved her to give the pair of lips greater access to the expanse of her neck, beginning to leave marks across her skin. Lazily bringing her arm up, she touched Shikamaru’s shoulder, the real one, and weakly pulled him towards her, silently signalling she wanted to be kissed. 

Diving forward to capture her lips, a single deep kiss led to more until they were furiously making out, Shikamaru’s fingers digging into her waist while both clones kept touching her, the one with his fist in her hair using his other hand to grope her breast. Athena had very quickly become overwhelmed and her body just about went limp, trusting Shikamaru to know what’s best for her. 

The sudden loud noises on either side of her head shocked her into sitting straight, Shikamaru’s tight grip on her waist being the only thing to stop her from running away from him. She felt his hands leave her body as the smoke dissipated, her eyes becoming irritated from the dust particles as she tried to blink them away to clear her vision. Once she could see clearly again, the air around them becoming clear once more, Athena saw Shikamaru already going through the freezer where she had put the ice cream just minutes to go, not even acknowledging her presence. 

She only had time to jump off the counter before she heard a set of keys being used, their front door opening to reveal  Choji, who quickly shrugged off his layers of clothing that protected him from the cold outside.

“Hey, I’m just going to get changed , then I’ll be ready to go again!” Choji gave a smile to Athena as he passed her, walking through the hallway, shutting the bathroom door behind him,  seemingly unaware of the tension still lingering in the kitchen.

Shikamaru was about to stand up from his spot by the freezer, smirk still in place from moments before, but before he could, Athena crossed the small space between them and shoved his shoulder, causing him to fall back and sit on the floor. He lifted his head, intending to tease her, but stopped when he saw the pure rage on her face. This wasn’t her being bratty in response to his teasing, this was the quiet rage she’d kept inside for the past fortnight.

“If you  _ ever _ do something like that to me again without any intent to follow through, I’ll break you.” Her words seethed through her teeth as she slammed one hand on the wall behind him. “I know every single weakness of yours, so think about that before you try that shit again. Got it?” Shikamaru just nodded his head, still shocked at seeing this level of fury coming out of his partner for the first time. “Good.” Athena promptly turned and stormed off, passing Choji on the way through the hallway, giving him a tight-lipped smile before slamming the bedroom door behind her.

“Hey, is she okay?” Choji asked, not really sure if that was the right question to ask as he saw Shikamaru sitting on the kitchen floor, back pushed up against the wall with his arms dangling off of his bent knees.

“Yeah, but we should probably try our best to get that room finished today.” Shikamaru stood, grabbing Choji’s ice cream from the freezer before he closed the door and grabbed his friend the largest spoon they had, giving both to him. Choji took them without any more questions as Shikamaru gave him a sheepish smile in response to the worried look on his own face, following Shikamaru back down the hall. 

“I was gone for 15 minutes, how did you make her that angry?”

“You probably don’t want to know the details.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Later that evening, Choji was sent as the sacrificial lamb to go knock on the couple’s bedroom door. He told Athena they had finished and received a cheery response in return as she opened the door.  Shikamaru showed off his best smile when Athena walked through the door to her new office, gasping at how it’d turned out.

“Aww, thanks Choji, it’s beautiful.” The large man couldn’t help himself from giving a mocking glance towards his friend as Athena hugged him tightly.

“It’s okay, I have to go now though, so I’ll see you soon, okay?” She took her time walking Choji to the door, apologising for the temperature in their apartment as they went.

As Shikamaru waited for her to come back, Eros sat in the doorway and stared directly at him, obviously giving him an insight to Athena’s mood.

When Choji had left, she walked back to the room and crossed her arms as she looked at her boyfriend’s cute little pout which made her quickly forgive him. Once she stood in front of him, Shikamaru was quick to scoop her up, wrapping her legs around his torso as she clung to his neck. The tight squeeze Shikamaru gave her further nullified her temper, causing her to quickly become tired now that she had released all the energy she’d put into being angry.

“Thank you.” She mumbled into his neck, still feeling a bit stubborn.

Shikamaru walked her back into their bedroom, intending to tuck her back into bed before he took a shower to wash away his sweat before he joined her. Leaning forward to place her down, Athena had to get one last jab in as her back hit the sheets beneath, Shikamaru smiling at her adorable brattiness.

“You stink and I hate you.”

“I know, I love you too, princess”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shikamaru calls Athena princess when she's being all stubborn and bratty <3


	14. November 14th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short and fluffy chapter today because I'm v sleepy 😴

November 14th

Shikamaru had made an effort to leave their bed quietly that morning, hoping that letting Athena sleep in, undisturbed, would serve as a pleasant peace offering in case she was still upset with him from the previous night. He knew from their short conversation after he had climbed into bed that she wasn’t necessarily upset with him anymore, she just had half a months worth of sexual frustration that she had nowhere to release anywhere else than at him, especially when his teasing had given her a small sense of relief before he ripped it from her. If Athena hadn’t told him to stay in the ‘competition’, he would have broken for her right then. Shikamaru didn’t want to provoke any sense of pain in her, and if he could relieve any of her discomfort, he would, but unfortunately Athena now funnelled her anger into ‘them’ winning. Even though it had been hard, they were nearly half way through the month, and the amount of money involved was incentive enough to keep going.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard Athena coming down the hallway towards him, poking only her head into the kitchen first to see if he had left for work already. She smiled back at him as they made eye contact, her smile being much sleepier than his as she padded into the kitchen and wrapped herself around his waist, leaning most of her weight into him. Shikamaru wrapped his available arm around her, making a joke of lightly placing his coffee cup on her head with the other, a gesture that just made her snuggle into him more, as if she was seeking to be nestled between his ribs.

“Sorry if I woke you. I tried to leave quietly.” Shikamaru spoke quietly, not wanting her to wake up fully. From her body language, it was obvious to him how much she needed to go back to sleep.

“I woke up ‘cause I was cold without you.”

How their apartment had gone from a sauna to an ice box overnight, Shikamaru really couldn’t tell. It did mean, however, that when he had lightly awoken in the early hours of the morning, he was more than happy to pull her towards him to spoon her, something he couldn’t do when they had fallen asleep at opposite sides of the bed due to the stifling heat.

Actually putting his cup down on the counter this time, Shikamaru picked Athena up so she could ‘koala’ him. It was a small gesture, but it was something that calmed them both down immensely. An intimate act that made her feel protected and safe, and left him feeling content that he had been the one to secure that safety, always wanting to protect her from the harm that came with being a shinobi.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, just holding each other. If Shikamaru hadn’t had an ANBU meeting to overlook, he might’ve taken the day off to continue enjoying the warmth between them.

Whispering the time into Athena’s ear, lightly telling her he had to start getting ready to leave, he carried her around the kitchen, grabbing any items she wanted to snack on, before he carried her back to bed. In her defence, she tried to get down to grab her own things, but Shikamaru wanted her to stay in his arms for as long as possible. 

The couple bumped their way down the hall, Athena’s toes bumping against the walls, causing her to laugh, before Shikamaru placed her down on his side of the bed. Eros had already curled up against her pillow, claiming that side as his own, but he did man an effort to stretch his paws out towards her as she turned her head to look at him.

Shikamaru left the room after giving Athena a soft kiss, her lips already struggling to follow his lead, before he left her to get ready to leave, including putting on his vest and checking he had the essentials he would need for the day. As he was about to put his shoes on and leave, he couldn’t stop himself from checking on Athena one last time, hoping he might even be able to snag another kiss before he left.

He walked in to see Athena curled up tight, one of his pillows between her legs for her back pain, and Eros cuddled up against her head. The feline lifted his head to glance at Shikamaru when he heard him enter the room. Looking at Shikamaru’s face, Eros placed his tail over Athena’s, a silent declaration to watch over her while he was gone. 

Shikamaru left their apartment more willingly than he had the previous weeks, the cold of winter starting to settle in making him feel vulnerable in the face of the frigid wind that seemed to follow after anyone who dared to step out onto the streets. The only thought going through Shikamaru’s head, and the one that pushed him out the door most days, was that the sooner he went to work, the sooner he’d be able to arrive home to the warmth of his family and be able to curl up beside them.


	15. November 15th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is my favourite chapter. Might even be my favourite thing I've ever written.

November 15th 

Shikamaru had been the first to notice the change in Eros that morning, as he was usually the one to feed him before he made his own breakfast. Every morning Shikamaru would put Eros’s food bowl down, and by the time Shikamaru was ready to leave, Eros would leave his now empty bowl behind in favour of sitting back in bed with Athena. 

This morning started the same, Shikamaru did everything the same as he usually did. Gave Eros his breakfast, fed himself, but this time, after he exited the bathroom after brushing his teeth, he peeked into the bedroom and noticed that Eros hadn’t taken up the empty side of the bed, nor was he nestled on Athena’s pillow. Walking around the house to see where he was, Shikamaru found him lying on the floor about a metre away from his food bowl, the food inside still sitting untouched.

Shikamaru crouched down to pet Eros’s head and the available fur on his back, but he pulled his hand back when Eros turned his head and hissed loudly at him. Immediately standing and quickly walking back to the bedroom, he shook Athena awake, even tapping her cheek lightly with the tips of his fingers to try and get her attention.

“What the fuck, honey?” Her voice was groggy when she finally opened her eyes.

“It’s Eros.”

“What?”

“He hissed at me.”

You could’ve dumped a bucket of water over Athena and gotten the same reaction, as she sat up and scrambled out of bed, leaving Shikamaru behind her to try and process how quickly his girlfriend had gone from dead asleep to jogging down the hall.

He followed her out to where Eros was, noting that he still hadn’t changed position, his body still lying on his side. Athena had better luck touching Eros, being able to stroke over his belly lightly without any response. It was only when she touched the area around one of his back legs that Eros started crying out pitifully, and when she gently wrapped her hand around his back paw, intending to try and see if anything was amiss, he hissed at her, causing both humans to widen their eyes. 

Eros never hissed at Athena. Shikamaru had gotten hissed at a few times when he and Athena started dating, and he’d hiss at others if he didn’t want to be touched, but he _never_ hissed at Athena.

Just as Shikamaru was getting his head around Eros hissing, he then watched as Athena’s whole demeanor changed in front of him, her worried face slipping away, leaving a neutral, blank base.

“Watch him while I get dressed.”

When Athena came back out, she was in a pair of sweatpants and one of Shikamaru’s jumpers, obviously being the first items of clothing she had thought of, signifying to him how serious this was. Shikamaru sat on the floor by Eros as Athena moved with purpose around the apartment, grabbing his carrier, a towel, and the oversized shirt she had worn for most of the previous day. After putting the items in as padding at the base of his carrier, Athena then acknowledged Shikamaru again and instructed him on how to help her place Eros gently in his carrier. From there Athena zipped up the top, placed the strap over her shoulders comfortably, and headed towards the front door, slipping her shoes on and only grabbing her wallet and keys. She was already out the door before Shikamaru finished putting his first shoe on.

After he caught up with her, he started badgering her with questions, asking her what had happened, if Eros was going to be okay. It got to a point where Athena stopped and turned towards Shikamaru, holding his forearms and taking a deep breath.

“Shikamaru. I love you, and it means a lot that you’re worrying, but I need you to go to work. Please. I’ll get someone to come get you if it’s anything urgent, okay?” Shikamaru wanted to fight against her, say he was coming along anyway, but he could feel her hands shaking as they held onto his arms, so he nodded his head and watched her walk away.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

No one who worked under Shikamaru really knew what to do or say when their boss came into work that morning and seemed to be unable to sit still.

His fingers would drum on any surface he came in contact with, his legs would take turns bouncing underneath the table and he seemed to be going through less of his paperwork than he usually did.

Shikamaru knew Athena was right in asking him to leave. He had never had a pet growing up, and Eros was such a smart cat that sometimes it was hard to remember he wasn’t a ninneko, a cat that had been bred to work alongside shinobi. 

Shikamaru had been at death’s door so many times, been able to keep a level head in the most chaotic situations, but right now he felt like a nervous wreck. The only thing keeping him in his office, attempting to get through some of his work, was the way Athena had become so calm and collected as soon as she saw that something was wrong with Eros. Eros was relying on her, so even though her hands had been shaking and her head was still feeling like it was stuffed full of cotton wool, she needed to focus on getting him help above all else.

The various coos coming from the corridor outside his office was what made him look up, watching when a few seconds later Eros’s head popped out from a metre up the side of the door frame, obviously being held up by someone. Eros directed a little squeak towards Shikamaru before he moved, revealing Athena supporting his neck with her hand and supporting the rest of his body on her other arm. His legs were dangling freely and one leg was wrapped in bright pink gauze.

“Now, do you want to tell your dad what you did?” Eros just purred at Athena’s words as she brought him into the room, Shikamaru rising from his chair to meet them halfway. He gave his furry son a few pets along his head before he looked back towards Athena.

“Your dumbass son sprained his leg somehow.”

“How come he’s suddenly _my_ son when he does stupid things?”

“Well he had to have gotten those genes from somewhere, and they certainly didn’t come from me.” He met her smile with one of his own and any lingering worries he had carried only a few moments prior had now vanished.

“So what now?” Shikamaru asked, bending down to have a look at the tightly wrapped leg, not daring to touch it.

“He has a splint and needs to stay in an enclosed space for a few weeks so he doesn’t jump around and make it worse. He also has pain medication, which you can see he’s already partaken in.” Looking back up towards his snout, Shikamaru snorted as he saw the string of dribble coming from his mouth, though it was obvious Eros didn’t care as he kept purring loudly in Athena’s arms, eyes closed peacefully.

“Okay, I’m going to take him home now, I just wanted you to see that he was okay, and I’m sorry I pushed you away,” Shikamaru shook his head and held Athena’s face between his hands, looking directly into her eyes.

“No, I was useless. You made the right call.” He finished by placing a soft kiss on her lips before bending and planting another kiss on the top of Eros’s head, not even sure if the cat was still aware of his presence.

Shikamaru stood in the door frame, smiling as he watched Athena try to leave, constantly being stopped in her path as every passerby wanted to coo and aww at the large ball of fluff cradled in her arms. His dumbass son.


	16. November 16th

November 16th

The last Chunin exam of the year had finished about a month ago, and with that came the fresh batch of Chunin getting shown around the Hokage’s Tower. Everyone enjoyed the day the new kids got shown around, mostly because it had become a tradition to have a pretty sad-looking party set up in the staff room, though many didn’t stay to eat. Most people just came in to grab food before leaving again, not willing to stick around and see the kids’ bright eyes, not yet dulled like their superiors’.

Athena was particularly excited. She had never had the experience of meeting such young ninja, and while she was still disturbed at the idea of those kids being thrown into such deadly battles so young, she decided she was going to be the kind, friendly face to welcome them. She was also planning to be the only one sitting in the staff room, intending to gouge herself on the food.

She and Shikamaru didn’t head towards the tower together though. Athena had called in a favour and asked Kurenai, along with Mirai, to keep an eye on Eros for the day, allowing her to also spend a bit longer in bed as she waited for the two to arrive. Before he left, Shikamaru had kissed her goodbye and reminded her to bring something warm,  as she often forgot as the months grew colder.

When Mirai and Kurenai arrived, Mirai was ecstatic when Athena asked for her help in picking out her outfit for the day. The little girl’s first choice was a pair of fluffy pyjama pants, picked because they had kittens on them, and a big fluffy jumper, which also had a cat on it. Was Athena tempted to go to work in a full set of fluffy, cat pyjamas? Yes, but unfortunately she had to wear ‘dumb, old people clothes’, as Mirai called them, not noticing Kurenai and Athena trying desperately to hold in their laughter from her comment.

After a few compromises and some subtle guidance, Mirai actually had an outfit laid out that Athena was more than happy to wear to. It seemed impossible to make the little girl any happier, but when Athena suggested that they should steal a jumper from Shikamaru’s side of the closest, Mirai released a high pitch squeal. She barely looked through all of her options before she pointed to one in particular, nodding frantically when Athena pulled it off the hanger to show her.

Once Athena was dressed, and had been looked over by Mirai to check that the outfit still met her standards, she said goodbye and trekked out into the cold air, jumper folded over her arm.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Shikamaru looked at the time and noticed it was nearly midday, meaning Athena should have arrived by now. He had some papers from Team 8, requesting some information related to their upcoming mission, and used those as an excuse to  slip away and try to find her in her office.

When he got to her office, he noticed that her door was wide open when it was usually shut, and he could hear a conversation going on inside. When he had actually walked up to the doorway, he was first met with a man’s back. He was obviously one of the new Chunin, in particular, one of the ones who had failed the exam a few times judging from his height and the lower tone of his voice. 

“Sorry to interrupt.” The young man flinched and gave Shikamaru a glare when he had turned, apparently not pleased with how Shikamaru had pulled him away from his conversation with the sexy, little historian.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Oh hey, are those the request forms from Shino’s team?” Athena kept smiling,  ignoring the tension that had sprung up between the two men infront of her . There was nothing  she could physically do to stop them , plus, watching her boyfriend seeth at a sixteen year old boy whose voice still cracked every few sentences? Incredibly fun to watch.

She cleared her throat to turn their attention back to her, then turned to address the teenager in front of her.

“Sorry Takashi, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,  I have to finish this paperwork right away, and  these files are confidential.” 

Takashi  began to make his way to the door, before stopping just inside the frame and looking  behind him at Shikamaru. 

“Close the door behind you, please.”  Athena prompted. 

“What about him?” He pointed at Shikamaru, his face portraying how  put out he was that he had been asked to leave while Shikamaru stayed put, hands in his pockets and a smug look on his face.

“He has the same level of clearance as the Hokage. He can stay.” Was Athena going on a little bit of a powertrip? Quite possibly. “Close the door behind you.” And he did, still fuming as the door shut.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Now that the kid was gone, Shikamaru turned to face Athena, giving her a once over. She looked beautiful in her pair of tailored pants, but as he looked at her top, he could see exactly why someone would want to stick around and look at her. 

“Babe.” Athena just hummed in acknowledgment, leaning over the table checking over the forms.

“Athena.” Shikamaru growled at her, making her immediately tilt her head up to meet his eyes before standing up straight and fiddling with the pen in her hands. “Why are you wearing that shirt at work?”

Athena fiddled with it.  It was more of a ‘going out’ shirt, low cut in the front in a way that may not be totally appropriate for work. Keeping her eyes on her hands, she pouted. 

“Mirai picked my clothes for me.  I thought I looked nice. ” 

Shikamaru was somewhat impressed by how easily she became his nervous little sub again after so long.

“Are you going to blame her for your tits being out as well?” Shikamaru walked around the desk, intending to trap her between him and her desk. Athena only became more of a stuttering mess with him caging her in. The only proper sound that seemed to be able to escape her throat was a squeal, prompted by Shikamaru’s strong hands grabbing her hips before lifting her up onto the desk, splitting her thighs and standing between her legs.

“Shik-ah!” He grabbed her throat, letting her feel his fingertips lay on top of the arteries on either side of her neck. He hadn’t even put any pressure behind his fingers yet when she began to lightly pant, having to open her mouth to breathe in more air.

Shikamaru used his light grip on her neck to push her backwards, bending her over the desk. Athena’s head dangled over the edge, her body laid vertically on the desk, but the trunk of her body was perfectly supported on the surface, and that’s all that mattered right now. 

Ignoring the light knocks on her office door and slipping his left hand through the hair at the nape of her neck, his fingers replacing those of the right along the side of her throat, as his other hand moved down to the neckline of her top, pulling the right side of it down before grabbing a handful of her breast. Shikamaru lifted her head to make sure Athena could see as he lowered his mouth down to her breast, beginning to suck a hickey on the flesh just next to her nipple. It didn’t take long for the blood to rush to the top of her skin; Athena had always bruised well, meaning Shikamaru could already see the pigment of her skin darken as pulled her back up to sit in front of him.

“Those are mine, got it?” He gave her some extra time to answer, seeing how her head lolled as her blood adjusted to being upright again.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good girl.” After the words finished coming out of his mouth, swooping in to grab a quick kiss from her, he lowered his voice to a whisper as he moved his forehead to bump softly against hers. “Do you need anything?”

“Just hold me while I stand for a sec.” And so he stood in front of her, wrapping his arms around her waist to keep her steady. “C-could you grab my jumper?” Shikamaru hummed at her, keeping one hand on her waist as he bent to grab ‘her’ jumper which sat next to her bag.

“Your jumper, huh?”

“ _ Our _ jumper.”

“Uhuh.” He couldn’t stop himself from smiling as he helped her slip the jumper over her head, running his fingers over the symbol of his clan embroidered on the side of the sleeve. “You okay if I go now?”

“Yeah, I’m okay now, just need to take it slow for a bit.” Nodding and parting with a kiss, Shikamaru slipped out the door, not noticing the small beetle that hitchhiked on the back of his shoulder before flying back to its master,  who kept himself hidden while Shikamaru turned down to leave through the opposite end of the hallway

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Shino poked his head in and saw Athena wonder around the room, grabbing the files that he assumed were for him. Having caught Shino in her peripheral vision, she turned and greeted him, letting him know that she had nearly finished collecting all the folders he had requested.

He couldn’t help but wonder how Athena seemed so cheery.

Earlier when Shino knocked on her office door, when he didn’t receive an answer, he had slipped one of his beetles under the door. He had then begun to see through it’s eyes as it checked if Athena was even in the room. 

Shino was shocked as he saw that Shikamaru seemed to be intimidating his partner, even grabbing her by the neck as a physical threat. Shino couldn’t stop himself from using his bug to look on, concerned for his friend’s safety, waiting to barge in if Shikamaru seemed to be inflicting serious harm to Athena. His bug wasn’t able to get the best view while remaining hidden, and this species of beetle was deaf, thus no way of hearing what the couple was saying, but he had to do something about what he saw.

“Shino?” Athena had a worried look on her face as she stared at him.  She had obviously said something and was now  holding the files out towards him,  head tilted in concern . 

“Oh, yes.  Sorry, I was  lost in thought.  Thank you for  retrieving  these. ”

“No worries, it’s my job.” Athena smiled brightly at him before she stepped out of the room, causing him to step back to stay out of her way, and locked the door behind her. 

Shino had to ask her now, while no one was around. She needed to know she could confide in him and  he could help  protect her, but before he could open his mouth to say something, Athena beat him to it. 

“I’m gonna go to the staff room to see if I can steal some food before it’s all gone. I’ll see you around, yeah?” She walked backwards as she talked, meaning that by the time she bid him goodbye, she was already gone down a corridor, towards a room that wouldn’t be appropriate to flag her down for the type of conversation he needed to have with her.

Shino walked away worried, trying to think of a way to see her privately, desperate to help in any way he could.


	17. November 17th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shhh, this totally wasn't a bit late

November 17th

No one really expected Kiba and Athena to be as close as they were, but  once they bonded, their friendship was the bane of everyone’s existence when they made plans together, and tonight those plans were  for the whole group to go out.

Which is how Shikamaru, along with the few others that Kiba was able to swindle into joining them, now sat side by side in a booth that had a perfect view of the bar. It took them all a few minutes to comfortably fit everyone, Athena squishing so tightly into Shikamaru’s side that she was almost sitting on his lap. Not that she would have complained.

It had been about half an hour and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Shikamaru was just enjoying his drink, occasionally resting his head on top of Athena’s, who was having an animated conversation with Tenten. Shino and Kiba had been trading insults, but they had settled to listen, and sometimes contribute, to the girl’s conversation. At least that was until something caught Kiba’s eye.

“Ooo, chick alert!” Everybody turned and followed the direction of Kiba’s finger until their eyes landed on a blonde buying a drink from the bar. The woman was beautiful, wearing a tight black dress with a denim jacket, the back of which was covered in patches, sitting atop her shoulders.

Athena had a glint in her eye when she focused her attention back on Kiba, “Well go on then! Shoot your shot!”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah! Go get ‘er,”

Fueled by Athena’s encouragement, Kiba went bounding over to the woman while his friends watched him.

Shikamaru watched Athena sip on her drink, clearly knowing something they didn’t.

“I don’t even want to know what you’re thinking of, but what are you going to do if he does get her number?” Athena responded by reaching up and petting his cheek, her eyes not leaving her friend’s form and a smirk never leaving her face.

“Oh sweet, silly, baby boy. He won’t.” 

They watched on as Kiba talked to the blonde. They seemed to be having an okay conversation, she hadn’t immediately turned him away, but it hadn’t even been 5 minutes before he came trudging back, a downtrodden look on his face. 

Before he had even gotten all the way back to their table, Athena was already pushing Shino out of the booth so she could slip out.

“Alright Kiba, lemme show you how a professional does it.” Athena teased, winking at him as they crossed paths. 

Tenten glanced at Shikamaru, looking to him for answers, only becoming further confused when he shrugged, a smile on his face as he went back to watching his girlfriend strut towards the bar, choosing to stand on the opposite side of the woman than Kiba had. 

Athena waited patiently for the bartender to serve her, using the time she had to sway her hair around, pretending to be looking around at the other people as she let the scent of her perfume travel with her hair. When she caught the eye of the bartender, she made sure the woman beside her was looking as she propped her elbow on the bar and let her hand flop dramatically at the wrist, cash tucked between her index and middle finger. She caught the woman next to her bite her lip, trying not to break into a full smile as she watched Athena order her cocktail.

Once the bartender had left to make her drink, Athena turned her head to the side, immediately locking eyes with the woman next to her, both women smiling at the other.

“So is this the part where I’m supposed to ask ‘Do you believe in love at first sight? Or should I walk by again’.” Athena actually got a bit flustered as the woman laughed aloud to her shitty pick up line.

“I’d introduce myself, but I’ve forgotten my name, so you might have to give me yours,” 

“Well I’m Athena, if you’d like it,”

“It’s a beautiful name for a beautiful woman. I’m Haruka.”

“Well, Haruka, I’ve got a little bit of a confession to make,” Athena was interrupted as she was handed her drink, to which she said a quick thank you for it before turning back. “I’m actually not ‘on the market’, but you know that guy who came up to you just before me?” Haruka nodded and smiled, starting to see where this was going, “Well he’s my friend, and it’s always fun to knock him down a peg.”

“How were you so confident that I was a gay?”

“You have a patch of the lesbian flag on your jacket.” Haruka nodded and had a sip of her own drink, obviously impressed by Athena’s antics.

“I always forget it’s there. Are you at least actually gay though? Because if you’re not, you should definitely switch teams.”

“I’m pan, so I’m a part-time gay.”

“Well, Athena, I don’t want to steal you away from your friends any longer, so I’ll let you get back to them. But first,” Haruka tucked a stray lock of hair behind Athena’s ear before she turned her head and kissed her cheek, surely leaving a bright lipstick print on her skin. “Go give him hell for me.” The girls shared one more laugh together as Athena picked up her drink as they said a final goodbye to each other. 

When she turned and looked back at her table, she was delighted to see the reactions from her friends. Kiba’s mouth was hanging wide open, Tenten not faring much better, Shino’s reaction was hard to determine because of his high collar and glasses, but seeing Shikamaru gazing at her proudly, a smile set firmly on his face, was her favourite reaction of all.

“Sorry Kiba, could you check if there’s something on my face?” Athena quipped, leaning her cheek down towards Kiba’s face mockingly.

“What the hell was that?” She had to move her head away as Kiba shouted in her ear, eyes still wide open in shock.

“What? Did I never tell you I was into girls too?” Kiba needed a second to process what he had just heard, which Athena used to pass her drink over to Shikamaru, taking advantage of her close proximity in that moment, Athena having not made any move to sit back down next to him.

“So are we breaking up then?” He challenged, smirking up at her.

“Not yet, but you’re on thin ice.” She winked at him once before standing straight again, “And with that, I need to go to the bathroom.”

She had already started walking away when Shino stood from his seat, stating that he had to go to the bathroom as well.  He sped up to catch her as she turned the corner and surprised her just as she was about to open the door, grabbing her arm and pulling her into a small alcove, out of sight from their friends.

“What the hell, Shino!? Why are you pulling me?” It wasn’t that Athena was scared or didn’t like Shino, but they had never had the most substantial relationship, only connecting because of their mutual friends.

“Athena, I need you to know you may trust me. If you need help getting out, I can protect you.” Her eyes furrowed, Shino’s words confusing her further.

“What? What are you talking about?”

“I didn’t intend to invade your privacy, but I’m glad I did. You need to know that it is not your fault, and you have many options.”

“Shino, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You didn’t answer the door when I knocked yesterday, and as I needed those files as soon as possible, I slipped a beetle under your door to see if you were in your office or if I should go find you-”

“Oh. And then you saw me and Shikamaru.”

“Yes.” She had no idea how to even start explaining herself, taking a moment to hide her face in her hands.

“Umm, I really don’t know how to explain this to you, but you need to believe me when I say Shikamaru wasn’t doing anything I didn’t want him to do.” There was a pause as she waited for him to respond.

“He had his hand around your throat.”

“Yes, I know, I understand why you’d be concerned, but if I had told him to stop, he would’ve stopped immediately.” The pause between them lasted longer this time, and Athena was just praying that she wouldn’t have to explain anymore about her sex life, but it seems she wouldn’t be that lucky.

“But… he had his-”

“-hand around my throat, I know. He was pressing  _ very _ lightly on the two arteries on either side of my neck because it makes me feel … good.” For being someone who usually enjoyed talking about sex, she was becoming more and more desperate for this conversation to be over.

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand why you would desire that.”

“And that’s totally okay, but what I need you to understand is that it’s something I ‘desire’.” From what she could see of Shino’s face, it was obvious that he still had concerns. “Shino, I’m not comfortable talking about this any further with you, so I just really need you to believe me. Maybe go pick up a book? I don’t know.” The need to pee was completely gone as Athena sped back to their table, sliding in beside Shikamaru and raising herself so she could whisper in his ear. “I’m going to chug this drink and then we’re going to go, okay?” 

Shikamaru didn’t know how to respond, but just watched on with concern as he watched his very small girlfriend drink the last half of her cocktail, now thankful that he had drunk the first half of it after she had left. Sliding back out from her seat, tugging Shikamaru’s sleeve to encourage him to start moving as well, Athena quickly said goodbye to Tenten and Kiba before taking Shikamaru’s hand and just pulling him towards the exit.

Once they were outside, Shikamaru used his strength to stop Athena and pull her into his chest.

“Hey, are you okay? Did Shino do something to you?”

“No, but he thinks you did something to me. Look, can we please just go home and I’ll explain it then?” He didn’t really have much of a choice, merely following after her again as she resumed pulling him down the streets of the village.


	18. November 18th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just something short and sweet for today

November 18th

“ Welcome home Honey!”

Shikamaru smiled when he heard Athena’s voice ring out throughout the house as he shut the door behind him, hurrying to strip himself of his things so he could follow the sound of her voice. He found her in the kitchen cooking, turning her head back towards him and smiling, her greeting pushing Shikamaru to stand behind her, his arms around her waist and his chin hooking over her shoulder to watch as she focused on the few pots and pans that were cooking on the stove top.

“Hi baby. How did you go with work?” Shikamaru’s question got more of a response than he thought it would as Athena’s shoulders slumped slightly, followed by an audible sigh.

“You know how I only went out to get a few sets of files today?” Shikamaru hummed in affirmation. “A trip that had me outside the house for less than an hour?” Another hum, “Well. I was in my office for all of  _ five minutes _ before Shino miraculously showed up at my door.” Shikamaru had to detach himself from Athena and lean against the wall as her gestures became more exaggerated, her embarrassment from the night before flaring as she spoke.

“So what did he accuse me of now?” Shikamaru  raised an eyebrow jokingly. His jovial treatment of the whole situation only helped in making his partner become further frustrated.

“Shika, I was scared and embarrassed last night! I just wanted it all to never be mentioned ever again, but nope. He walked into my office and began apologising to me,”

“Well, that doesn’t sound to-”

“Oh no, you don’t get to say anything. It’s your fault I had to stand there and listen to him rehash our entire conversation while I desperately hoped to spontaneously combust!”  She blew out her cheeks at him which only seemed to make his grin grow wider.

“Yeah, but look at me and tell me to not do it again.” Athena turned all of the hot plates off and turned to lock eyes with Shikamaru giving him her full attention. Hands placed firmly on her hips,  she was ready to make him take her embarrassment seriously.

“Okay. Shikamaru. Don’t  _ ever _ do that to me at work again.” She did enjoy watching his face fall at her statement, but when he reached forward to latch onto her waist, pulling her flush against him, she knew whatever she wanted didn’t really matter. He enjoyed riling her up too much to stop just because she told him not to.

“I’ll do it if you really want me to, but do just think of how upset you’d get if I stopped paying attention to you for a whole work day.” Yeah, he definitely had Athena in the palm of his hand, but he made a note to be more alert if he pulled something like that at work again.  He let her hips go and continued to watch her as she plated their dinner silently, her lack of eye contact and her full pout showing how she still wasn’t ready to forgive him.

Athena was about to walk out of the kitchen with her plate, still ignoring Shikamaru, before he grabbed her wrist and took her plate from her, placing it back on the counter so her hands were free for him to pull her into a tight hug.

“I’m sorry, baby girl. I won’t do it again at work if that’s what you want, okay?” He felt her nod against him, but when he tried to push her away to resume having dinner, she only held on tighter, not ready to be let go. Shikamaru chuckled down at her, finding her grip around his waist adorable, but he returned the embrace. If this is what she needed from him, that she’d get it.


	19. November 19th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda love writing these cute little fluff chapters.

November 19th

Now that they were both adults, Shikamaru and Choji didn’t get to see each other as much as they would’ve liked . An ytime they could meet up to lay under the clouds like they used to as  kids, they’d take it. Shikamaru had arrived at their meeting spot first, already laying under a tree when Choji came along, quickly taking up his spot next to his friend.

Once he was able to lower himself to the ground, Choji didn’t waste any time before spreading his limbs out like a starfish, soaking in the few rays of sun that fought against the ever thickening layer of clouds.

“Ugh, the winter makes me so tired, and I never feel awake no matter how much I sleep. Is this how Athena feels all the time?” Choji turned to look at Shikamaru, catching the brief smile the mention of his partner’s name pulled from him.

“Maybe. She gets bursts of energy though, so I think you might be faring a bit worse than her for once.” 

“How is she? I haven’t seen her since we did her office.”

“Yeah, she’s okay. She’s been holding it in well, but I can tell she’s getting overwhelmed with work, and worrying about Eros.” He released a sigh, thinking over the few times she’s just needed him to hold her over the past couple weeks, one of her biggest tells when her stress and/or pain is spiking, “Just wish I could take her away for a bit, give her a reason to properly rest without feeling guilty that there’s other things she could be doing.”

“What’s stopping you?” 

They turned their heads to look at each other, Shikamaru releasing another sigh before rolling his head back, his eyes following the rustling leaves above him once more.

“The usual. Work, not being able to get time off, money? Eros’s vet bill wasn’t too bad, but it was still more money than we could comfortably give.” Choji watched his friend’s profile as he threw an arm over his eyes.

“Is that why you haven’t dropped out of Kiba’s bet yet? The money? I thought you’d be one of the first few to go, what with the way you and Athena-”

“Okay, I get it, Choji,” Shikamaru smiled at Choji’s remark.  He was the only one Shikamaru would tolerate jabs about his sex life from . “Apparently Ino gives ‘Thena enough grief, which is her reason for still going along with it,” He released a small chuckle just thinking about the two women’s friendship, “And yeah, kinda in it for the money. I wasn’t thinking about it in the first or second week, but it got to a point where I just went, ‘hey, how hard can another two weeks be’.”

“So would you spend the money on ;  a holiday, or a ring?”

“Ugh, Choji!” Shikamaru knew that as soon as he proposed to Athena, everything would start going so fast. He just wanted everyone to leave the topic alone so he and Athena could just stay in their bubble a while longer. It never seemed to stop Choji making jabs at him though.

“Okay, okay! So where would you take her?”

“Ino told me about a hot spring a couple hours out of the village. It’s supposed to be known for relieving pain.”

“That sounds nice. You two should go.” 

The two of them let silence wash over them for a few minutes, the only noises coming from the wind and the bits of nature it moved. 

“I’ll drop out for you . No joke.  You and Athena deserve to have some time to yourselves.” Shikamaru glanced over at Choji, the larger man still lying peacefully, hands sitting atop his belly.

“Thanks, Choji,”

The next thing Shikamaru remembered was Choji waking him up, the sun setting in the distance. Both friends sat next to each other for another moment, laughing at how they had both fallen asleep, just like when they were kids.


	20. November 20th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short fluffy one. I know I'm writing a lot of short fluff right now, but I'm kinda leading up to the last week of november.

November 20th

“I’m home!”

Athena placed down her pen when she heard the front door close, waiting patiently for Shikamaru to come into her office and say hello. When he did, he was already in the process of undressing, his shirt in his hand when he lent down to give Athena a kiss.

“Hi  Baby , Choji and I are going out for BBQ tonight.” Athena watched as he walked back out of her office and into their bedroom, obviously in a rush to get changed into something more casual if he was going out with Choji. Scooping Eros’s brand new cat bed, with Eros and his sprained leg still in it, she moved both of them to the bedroom, intending to sit on the bed and talk to Shikamaru before he went out again.

“I don’t want to ruin your boy’s night, but are you sure about going out tonight? Remember we have Shizune’s birthday party tomorrow night.” 

“Yeah, but Choji and I haven’t gone out by ourselves in a while, and hanging out again yesterday was just really nice. Trying to make the most of it before he’s needed on missions again.” Shikamaru explained, sitting on the bed in just his underwear to take a moment to reach out and touch Athena’s leg, running the tips of his fingers back and forth along her calf. 

“Okay, just try not to get home too late.” Athena paused to reach her hand out to intertwine with Shikamaru’s, using him to help her slide from her spot at the head of the bed to sitting beside him, “The bed’s starting to get cold when you’re not here.”

Shikamaru wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into him as close as he could. They were both prepared to sit there uninterrupted until they heard Eros let out a loud cry, already beginning to wobble across the bed when they turned around.

“Hey buddy, you wanna join us?” Eros chirped at Shikamaru’s words, eagerly letting himself be picked up and into Shikamaru’s arms so he could be held between him and Athena.

The three of them did end up sitting there for a few minutes, Athena’s head on Shikamaru’s shoulder, Shikamaru’s head laying on hers, and Eros enjoying being coddled between them, Athena’s nails scratching through the short fur on the top of his head. When Shikamaru decided that he really should finish getting ready, he gently transferred Eros, now relaxed and a bit droopy, into Athena’s arms and helped her move them both back to the head of the bed so they could stay curled up for a little while longer. 

Once he was ready to go, he went to Athena’s side and kissed her lightly, leaving an extra kiss on her forehead before he pulled away, promising to be back soon. Truthfully, Athena didn’t mind what time Shikamaru came home, as long as he came home safe. 

However, she did like the feeling of him coming home that night, waking her up slightly only to move her and Eros under the covers, still in the same spot they were when he left, before he slid in beside them, whispering his affections to both of them before falling asleep himself.


	21. November 21st

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I pushing a not-so-subtle NaruSasu agenda? Yes. Yes, I am.

November 21st

“So remind me why we’re here again?” Shikamaru questioned, already put off by the loud noise and the large crowd of people milling about within the lazily decorated space.

“Because Tsunade wanted a reason to drink, so she threw a birthday party for Shizune,” Athena responded, intertwining their arms and hands tightly as she tried to guide them over to a quieter corner.

Shikamaru never liked the work parties that came along with working within the Hokage’s Tower, but Athena took to them like a fish to water, so he usually trailed behind her at each one. One of the only benefits of tagging along was being able to admire Athena throughout the night. With her spending so much of her life in pyjamas or other comfy clothes because of the excess energy it took her to get properly dressed each day, seeing how happy she became when she set aside the energy to dress herself up to her liking was nice. Sometimes Shikamaru even felt like he was bringing down her appearance, a drab accessory that she wore each time out of obligation, but the way she’d smile at him, even if it was from across a crowded room, it always settled his insecurities. And if a smile didn’t do the trick, she’d always be the first to work her way back to him and join him in whatever nook he was able to hide away in.

They were currently in that nook, Athena joining Shikamaru for a drink and a snack before she inevitably went back to dancing with the other girls, when Naruto walked up to them. He was rubbing his neck, a sure fire sign that he was embarrassed about what he was about to say.

“Hey guys, uh, Shino said I had to go around and tell everyone involved, but I’m out of the bet.”

“Aww, that sucks. Any reason why?” Shikamaru wanted to scold Athena for asking, but he knew her curiosity would find a way of asking him about it anyway.

“Uh, just got sick of it, y’know? A-Anyway, I’ll leave you guys.” And so Naruto stumbled away, not noticing Athena wiggling her fingers in a wave directed towards his form. Once he was out of earshot, Shikamaru nudged her shoulder.

“Okay. What do you know?”

“Oh, I don’t know anything. I was just thinking about a letter I recently got from a dear friend.” Athena paused for dramatic effect, but Shikamaru just raised his eyebrow, signalling that he wasn’t going to indulge her by prompting her to continue, “Well this ‘dear friend’ told me that he’d only be in town for a few hours to rest and grab more supplies, and he assured me he already had a place to rest for the night.” He could tell what Athena was getting at, but he let the thought sit in the air a bit longer as he watched Naruto moving around, noticing how he did everything to hide a few specific spots on his neck.

“Sasuke?”

“Yep.” Athena popped the ‘p’ at the end of the word, looking far too smug as her eyes lazily surveyed the rest of the room.

“You really think they-?”

“Oh come on, Shika. Don’t tell me you’ve never felt the waves of sexual tension the two of them give off.” He didn’t really have an argument to go against Athena’s words, and the theory of the two men spending the night together definitely made sense if Sasuke had only been in the village for a single night, like he had told Athena.

“Okay, fine. You’re probably right.” The only response she gave was a wink before she walked off to meet up with Sakura, who had started dancing with a few others in the center of the room.

Shikamaru consumed a few more drinks while he waited for Athena, his eyes drifting over to her form every few minutes, even when he had been pulled into a few conversations, so by the time she did rejoin him, they were both a little dazed. Shikamaru from the alcohol, and Athena from the adrenaline and the faux tipsiness that came with dancing in a tightly packed group, her skin glowing from the light sheen of sweat that coated her, some of her makeup unfortunately falling victim to it. The look in her eyes sobered Shikamaru up however, her exhaustion shining through, signalling that she had pushed herself too far and it was time to get her home. 

Shikamaru excused himself from the conversation he had ended up in, no one really noticing him as he slipped away and grabbed Athena’s waist, pulling her into his side as he started guiding the both of them out of the tower. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As soon as they got home, when Athena’s body recognised that it was in a safe space, she immediately became overwhelmed by nearly everything in her environment. She cried when she couldn’t undo her dress quickly enough, she sobbed when she cleaned her face of makeup, and continued to sniffle when Eros had trouble getting back up onto the bed with his bandaged paw, needing Shikamaru to pick him up and place him into Athena’s arms.

Once the three were in bed, Eros between them, Shikamaru’s thumb stroking along the curve of her waist, Athena had settled, but she was still holding something in. Shikamaru moved his hand toward her hair, stroking his fingers through the remains of the built up hairspray sticking the strands together, reminding her he was there.

“Did you have fun?” He asked, smiling slightly when she nodded back, already becoming too tired to talk. “I’m glad. I’ll still be here in the morning, you know that, right?” He watched as she closed her eyes, her anxiety already starting to kick in. “Well, I will be. So just sleep.”

So Shikamaru lay there silently next to her, caressing any bit of skin he could touch, listening as Athena’s breaths evened out. 

He knew she had a long day ahead of her, a cruel punishment for her ignoring the suffering her body went through for a few hours of fun, so he willed himself to sleep as well, wanting to be fully rested to be there for the woman who is always there for him.


	22. November 22nd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyy, we're finally at the chronic pain flare chapter!

November 22nd

The day seemed to start when Eros  woke Shikamaru up  by stepping on him, the feline trying to find a way down to the ground. This happened most nights, so Shikamaru was about to roll over and go back to sleep, but when he wrapped his arm around Athena’s form, he felt her tense, meaning she was awake and trying to evade his notice.

“Baby?” His voice was deep and husky as he whispered his words. Spreading his hand open over where her lungs would be, he tried to keep track of the rate at which she was breathing. 

It took a moment for her to answer, Athena thinking over if she still had a chance to convince him that she was asleep, but she wanted his comfort, even if that meant fighting against the anxiety in her head telling her not to bother him anymore than she already had.

“H-hey.” When he heard her voice, Shikamaru pulled himself flush against her back, wanting to physically remind her that he was there.

“Is it the pain that’s keeping you up?”

“Y-yeah,” The sniffling noises coming from her were becoming more audible every second.

“Okay. Do you want to keep laying here? Or do you want to move onto the couch?”

“What do you wanna do?”

“Baby. You know that isn’t what I asked.” Occasionally her responses threatened to break him. He knew how much pain she could be in, remembered her telling him once that the pain felt like it was coming from the very foundation of her bones; but when they both knew how much she needed help, she’d always attempt to deflect.

“.... Yeah. I wanna go to the couch.” Shikamaru didn’t wait any longer to get himself out of bed, fighting as hard as he could against his tiredness as he walked around to Athena’s side of the bed. She knew by now that he’d lightly scold her if she tried to move herself, so she waited patiently for him to slip an arm under her back, the other hooking under the crook of her knees, before he lifted her and began moving through the darkness of their home. 

When they reached the living room, Shikamaru placed her gently on the couch before he made his way around the room, lighting the candles that were scattered around for these exact moments. While he knew the likelihood of her falling asleep on the couch was low, he wasn’t going to turn the ceiling light on and tell her brain that it was suddenly an appropriate time to be fully awake. Once he could actually see Athena in the dim glow of the candles, he sat on the coffee table in front of her, watching her sorrowful face stare blankly into the abyss, a few tears falling freely as she blinked, wrapping her arms around herself.

“Shika?” Her face still didn’t move as she spoke, even when he hummed in response, letting her know quietly that he was still there. “Could you kiss me?”

Shikamaru exhaled loudly before he answered, telling himself that it wasn’t the time to remind her how in love with her he was, how she shouldn’t ever need to be anxious about asking to kiss him.

“Of course, baby girl.” He moved from the table onto the floor, sitting cross legged before her and gently pulling her into a kiss, letting her choose what pace and intensity she needed in that moment. They stayed there for what felt like forever, not ‘making out’ per se, but still never letting their lips part for too long, slowly continuing to move against each other.

When Athena had had her fill, alerting him by humming into his lips, she just gazed into his eyes, deciding what she needed next. Shikamaru waited as she thought, watching her bite the skin off of her lip as she took stock of her mental and physical health, not being able to stop himself from leaning forward and wiping away some stray tears before he removed his hand once more.    
Prior to Ino and Athena having the friendship they do now, Ino had asked him if he was sure about wanting a relationship with Athena, if he knew how ‘troublesome’ she’d become, but he’d never been more sure, and that feeling only intensified the first time she called on him for help when she was in this state. He loved her, and if he could minimise her pain in the slightest, or be the voice to tell her it’s okay to nap all day when she doesn’t feel like she deserves it, then that was the bare minimum he could do for her.

“Shika?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you just hold me?” He didn’t respond, just moved to lay down on the couch with her, reorganising each other so she lay comfortably on his chest.

When she started crying, he didn’t say anything, just ran his fingers up and down her back, moving any stray hairs from her face, just letting her cry into his shirt. He didn’t tell her to calm down, or to take deep breaths, or that it’d be okay, or move to get her tissues. She was crying because of the pain, because she couldn’t enjoy a night out and know that the only consequence she’d receive was a hangover, because she felt like her body was letting her down in every aspect of her life. She needed to cry right now, and he’d hold her for however long she needs.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At some point they must’ve fallen asleep . S ome of the candles  were still flickering, luckily not having caught anything on fire, the early morning sun now streaming into the room. Looking down the length of his body, Athena was asleep, her eyes beginning to swell and puff up even as she slept. She lay atop his shirt that was covered in her own dry tears, snot, and saliva, not that Shikamaru really cared. He’d been covered in worse substances, and at least he knew who they belonged to. And laying across his feet, having obviously felt left out or like he wasn’t doing his job as Athena’s guardian, Eros was looking back at him, tail lazily flicking back and forth off the side of the couch.

Shikamaru watched Athena sleep for roughly 10 minutes before he started brushing through her hair with his fingers, slowly waking her up.

When Athena did wake up, her tired eyes looked up towards her boyfriend, who smiled down at her, still running his fingers through her hair. Waiting a few minutes before moving, she tapped Shikamaru’s abdomen, letting him know to sit up so she had room to stretch, manifesting a broken snort of laughter when Eros got moved against his will so Shikamaru could actually sit up without the bundle of fluff weighing his feet down.

Shikamaru got up  from the couch as Athena popped her knuckles and her toes, running her hands over her knees and ankles to see if any parts were swollen with inflammation. He used this time to make his way to the kitchen to grab her pain killers and something small for her to eat, knowing she struggled to eat as soon as she woke up, but needing something in her stomach in case she fell back asleep for a few more hours. 

Athena was staring tiredly at her left leg, apparently the limb that had decided to manifest the most pain within her today,  prompting Shikamaru to run his hand over the flesh once he had given her a drink and her meds. He sat next to her, hip to hip, in silence, mindlessly running his hand up and down Athena’s back until she placed her drink down and leaned into him.

“Can we go back to bed?” 

“Of course, baby. Whatever you want.”

When Shikamaru raised her into his arms once more, her eyes already feeling heavier from being enveloped in his scent and warmth, Athena let a few more tears fall from her eyes, taking in how much he did for her.

Whether it was just standing by the bed as she got up, holding his arms out in case she fainted from the shift in gravity, or going out into the dark of night to get her fresh fruit because it was the only thing she could keep in her stomach when the nausea hit, it didn’t matter. His help meant everything to her, and her trust meant everything to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: This chapter was kinda gonna go over the whole day of Athena having a flare up, but then I had a flare up and didn't have the capacity to write about it 🙃


	23. November 23rd

November 23rd

When Ino came bounding up to her front door, Athena knew Shikamaru had sent her to try and make her feel better, or just to keep an eye on her. Letting Ino in and offering her something to drink, only to be denied entry from her own kitchen by the blonde, Athena decided to just go back to her book, rolling her eyes as she walked away.

Every other time Ino had come to ‘look after’ Athena after a flare up of pain, the girls had maintained a pretty good routine that worked for both of them. They mostly sat around and did their own things, but Ino would use her medical expertise to look Athena’s body over before anything else. She would soothe any joints that were still angry and inflamed, while also doing basic chores for her so Athena could sit back and continue to let her body rest. Athena had made it clear to both Shikamaru and Ino that she could be trusted to be left alone the day after a flare up without her body falling apart, but alas, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio had a soft spot for looking after her when they the opportunity arose. They explained multiple times that she was unofficially family so they had to look after her. This statement was usually followed by passive aggressive comments towards Shikamaru about removing the ‘un’ from ‘unofficially family’.

Seeing Ino return from the kitchen with two cups of sweet tea, Athena knew where this usually led, placing her book down before Ino sat down next to her.

“Okay, what gossip do you have?” Athena asked, holding her cup in her hands, enjoying the warmth penetrating her fingertips.

“‘Allegedly’ Tenten got a little tipsy after Shizune’s party and basically jumped Neji.”

“Wait, really?” Athena exclaimed. Tenten and Neji had been pining for each other the entire time Athena had known them, and from what she had heard, a long time beforehand as well. However, according to both parties, they were just friends with benefits. Someone to call on when they needed to relieve their frustrations. The thing that made this occurrence stick out though was that their ‘rendezvous’ were always scheduled; never just one jumping on top of the other.

“Yep! Sakura and I haven’t been able to get a hold of her since, so it could’ve just been a one time exception from her view.”

“God, I hope not. I can only see them skirt around each other for so long.” Both women sighed and took a sip of their drinks, Ino being the first to talk again, almost beginning to talk before she had actually swallowed.

“Hey, that means that it’s just Sai and Shikamaru left in the competition.”

“Huh, I guess it does.”

“Athena. I have seen you and Shikamaru sneak away from important gatherings because you couldn’t keep your hands off of each other, do not pretend that you aren’t desperate for this to all be over.”

“Of course I want it to be over, but it’s easier for me to get through it if I don’t think about it. I’m just gonna ignore it and wait until Shika slams me against a wall or something.” Ino nearly choked on her next sip of tea in response to Athena casually throwing a sexual comment about her friend into the conversation.

“Athena! Can’t you say it any other way?”

“Okay.” The glint of mischief in her eyes scared Ino, making her cringe on instinct when she cleared her throat to talk again, “I’m just going to keep being a dutiful, little sub until my-”

Athena didn’t get to finish her sentence as Ino stormed off into the kitchen again, shouting ‘nope’ and putting her hands over her ears, leaving her behind in a fit of laughter.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Hey, I’m home.”

“Hi Shikamaru! Athena’s napping, so just be quiet.” 

Shikamaru nodded at Ino’s request, quietly making his way over to join his friend on the couch.

“How was she?” Ino wanted to make a snarky remark towards her friend, mentioning that he hadn’t even said hello to her, but she knew him, and his relationship with Athena, well enough by now to know that he struggled to focus on anything else but her the day after a flare up.

“She’s okay, a bit of inflammation still, but nothing more than just a ‘bad day’ apparently. She’s been asleep for a while now though, so she’s obviously still in need of more rest.”

By now Eros had made his way to Shikamaru, rubbing himself up against Shikamaru’s trousers and covering the lower half in fur. While he looked down at his furry son, Ino looked him over, noticing his heavy eyes and how his breaths were getting deeper, sometimes even trying to hold back a yawn.

“Shikamaru, go get into bed with Athena. I know where the door is.” Ino snickered, enjoying the way his brows furrowed as his brain turned over her words, only seeming to comprehend them properly as she stood up.

“Ah, no, it’s okay. Do you want a-”

“Hey, it’s alright. I can tell you’re tired, and you start looking like a kicked puppy when you’ve spent all day worrying about her.” Shikamaru knew he didn’t really have an argument against her right now. After how awful yesterday was, seeing her in so much pain and only being able to support her, instead of making her better, did leave him feeling lost.

Reluctantly agreeing to Ino’s observation, the two of them said their goodbyes, Shikamaru being sure to thank her again for checking up on his partner. When he turned around after shutting the front door, Eros called out from the start of the hallway, already recognising their usual routine on days like this and wanting to speed through it. So Shikamaru walked down the hall, picking up Eros as he went, until he was able to peek through the bedroom door. Both boys seemed to smile when they were met with Athena’s sleepy wave, her eyes only fluttering open every few seconds as she lay there, half asleep. Interpreting the manner of her gesture to mean that they had to hurry into bed before she fully woke up and didn’t feel like sleeping again, Shikamaru placed Eros at her feet before he stripped off his excess layers and slid into his side of the bed, reveling in her body heat as it chased away any lingering chills from the outside. He felt better now that she was in his arms, because even if he couldn’t be with her every hour of the day, at least he was here now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am noticing that I've been ending every chapter with them going to sleep, but nothing is better than a nap to wrap a nice lil' bow on your day 😁


	24. November 24th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dove deep into Naruto lore for this chapter

November 24th

It was no longer shocking to Athena how violently a life could be taken, or how many lives could be taken  at once . She’d always had a morbid interest in the darker sides of what Shinobi did and, though some scared her more than others, she was pretty good at being able to step back and not dwell on the information she had read when it became too much. 

That’s one of the reasons she’d become so good at her job within the village. She could read through files that described, in detail, the deaths, tortures, and inhumane acts Konoha had committed  and been bystanders for , and still be able to separate the history from the village to the place and the people that she now considered her home.

So Athena didn’t have an explanation about how she had ended up on the floor of her home office, stray pieces of paper and pencils strewn around her. Her lungs were working hard to keep her breathing at a semi-normal rate, getting caught in her throat occasionally as the tears ran down her face. Maybe it was because her body was still sensitive from the past couple of days, or because she hadn’t eaten or drunk enough today and her brain was trying its best to keep up, but this had been the breaking point. 

Or maybe because this was the first file she’d read with multiple names on the pages that she recognised. They weren’t just scribbles on a page, and they weren’t just names to take note of. She could almost see their faces as she read, page after page, paragraph after paragraph, of what they had been exposed to, had to participate in.

Each description of the Third Shinobi War seemed to be peppered with the names of the loved ones of her friends’, placing them throughout the blood shed. Sasuke’s father and elder brother’s names were written neatly next to their testimonies of a bloody fight that had happened just outside of the village. The endless mission reports with Minato Uzumaki’s name signed in the top corner, usually accompanied by the names of his three students, then the names of only two of his students, until only Kakashi Hatake’s name lay under his teachers’. 

The names that had finally tipped her over the edge were those of the fifteenth generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the father’s of her two closest friends; Shikamaru’s father. 

Athena had stopped reading after her eyes were drawn to the name  _ Nara _ on one of the pages, only catching the names  _ Yamanaka  _ and  _ Akimichi  _ because they were directly next to it.

All of that information had now led her to here, laying on her side, curled up in the fetal position atop dozens and dozens of names, some now long since deceased, some she saw nearly everyday. 

Athena wasn’t a Shinobi, she had never wanted to be, but there, in that moment, she felt that she was the weakest she had ever been.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By the time she heard the front door open and close, Shikamaru’s voice calling out soon after, Athena had calmed down, no longer hiccuping on every breath. That didn’t mean she had gotten up off the floor or cleaned up her mess however. She had spent about half an hour on the floor, turning to lay on her back and stare up at the blank, white ceiling, as her brain ran amuck among her deepest insecurities. She had only broken out of it when Eros had jumped over her to greet Shikamaru, sparking a spot in her brain that made her scramble to get up and pick up the scattered pages, trying to put them back in some sort of order. 

When Shikamaru reached her office, expecting to see Athena in her usual cheery, occasionally exhausted, mood, he immediately felt a sense of unease when she gave him a tight smile before turning her attention back to her documents. He only became more suspicious when she told him she’d be done in a minute and she’d greet him properly when she was finished. Nonetheless, he did what she had told him, moving to get changed while he cycled through the possible explanations for the lack of acknowledgment he received upon coming home. The only reason that seemed substantial to him was that she just wasn’t in the mood, and while he was happy to respect her space if that was the reason, it was still the first time she hadn’t at least used his presence as an excuse to stretch her body out, taking one more small break before finishing up what she was doing.

Once he was finished changing in the bedroom he gave Eros, lying out along the bed, a few long strokes along his back and then went to check in on Athena. He was a little shocked when he saw her hunched over her desk. Her head laying on the tabletop, her arms dangling limply on either side of her chair, and the way her back convulsed were all telltale signs to him that, even though she had hidden it from him at first, she had obviously been upset for a while if she had exhausted herself to this extent.

“Can you tell me why you’re upset?” Athena’s body froze for a moment when his voice cut through the air. For a second she had forgotten he was there and she was trying to hide her feelings from him, but she knew there wasn’t any chance of pretending she was okay now. He knew. He always knew.

“It’s nothing, just a bad day.”

“That isn’t what I asked you ‘Thena,” Shikamaru paused as she crossed her arms on top of her desk and lay her head on them, still facing away from him. She still hadn’t spoken again, but it was progress. “I’ve seen you during bad days, and this is far too quiet for one of your ‘bad days’.”

Athena still didn’t bother to speak, but she leaned back in her chair, still making a point of not letting him see her face. She did, however, pick up her notebook and extend it towards him, allowing him to take it from her hand and flick through the most recent pages. 

At first glance it was like any of her other notes she’d make for her preliminary research, pages filled with lists of names, bullet points under each name stating their position, why they were important in the overall context, and any further questions she wanted to find answers to relating to that person. You could only tell which people she had struggled with by the filled in symbols next to the names, marking them as more important than the others, and the few names that had their fresh ink diluted by the few tear drops dotted along the final few pages.

The final few she had written before she had stopped were his dad’s teammates' names with ‘Ask Ino?’ and ‘Ask Choji?’ under the names of their fathers. Under his dad’s name Athena had clearly written ‘Ask Yoshino? Shika?’ before both names were scribbled out, the ink smudging across the page as her tears soaked through the paper.

Athena didn’t really know what reaction she’d get from Shikamaru, but she didn’t think he’d grab her arm and pull her to her feet and directly into his arms. She felt stupid that he was comforting her over  _ his _ father, who she didn’t even get the chance to meet, and she was going to say as much, intending to apologise for her crying, but got shut down by his lips resting against her cheek.

“I wish he could’ve met you. He would’ve loved you. Inoichi too.” Her arms tightened further around his waist as his lips began pressing light kisses sporadically across her cheek, making a point to lick a small line of her tears away, knowing that it’d make her laugh and try to push him away. He only allowed her to go an arms length away from him however, not letting her actually separate from him.

“C’mon, let’s go sleep,”

“Shika, I should really try to finish this. I can probably take a break though.”

“Nope, you need to come to bed with me, I don’t sleep as well without your hand reaching over to hold mine, unfortunately.” Athena blushed, even though she was aware that he was making a louder show of his affection just to ease her mind.

“O-okay, I can nap.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth Shikamaru pulled her back towards their bed, Eros still sitting happily on top of it, not even complaining when Athena lifted him so she and Shikamaru could get themselves beneath the duvet. Once Eros had found his way back to his spot in the miniscule gap between their legs, the couple already spooning, Athena’s hand reaching up to hold on to his from it’s place under her pillow, was when she pieced together what he had done.

“Shika?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you planning to continue seducing me into bed so I sleep at the same times as you?”

“Well, it’s worked so far.” Athena tried to pull away from Shikamaru in light of his statement, but he kept the hold he had on her waist tight, and his grip on her hand even tighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 👏M O R E 👏N A P S 👏


	25. November 25th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A smidge of angst, darlings?

November 25th

While the rest of yesterday evening had been fine, Athena had still spent a good portion of the night fighting with her anxiety, which, coupled with her anxiety for the day ahead, had led her to only get an hour or two of sleep. Her inability to fall back asleep after waking up in the early hours of the morning, having been beaten by the sun by only a few minutes, spurred her to use the extra time to get ready.

This morning she had a private meeting with one of the Lords that had been present during the meeting at the start of the month, the meeting where Athena had been ridiculed by one of his peers. Apparently the information she had provided them with made her stick out positively with this Lord, having reached out to the Hokage hoping to meet with her and discuss a few pieces of freelance work he would like her to put together for him. When she had been told by Kakashi about the Lord’s interest in hiring her, she was on the verge of saying no for the first few hours she had been left to think about it. The only reason she had changed her mind was because Sakura and Tenten had been in the vicinity and had convinced her to take the opportunity. Shikamaru had tried to encourage her before the girls got to her, but Athena was quick to dismiss his praise, always convincing herself that he sung her praises just because he was obligated to as her partner.

Athena decided that she’d use her extra time that morning, while Shikamaru was still asleep, to do her hair and make up, doing herself up to make her feel more confident than she was. Occasionally she needed this control over her appearance, especially when her self worth had taken a hit, in any capacity.

She wasn’t a shinobi, nor did her job require her to be physically fit, so if she thought too much about it, standing beside her friends could become hellish for her mind. While no one ever mentioned the extra pudge around her belly, some not even noticing it much, she noticed. It was hard not to notice the obvious difference in size when the girls were in a group. 

When she let Shikamaru in on her physical insecurities, he’d sometimes make her feel better, saying things like how happy her extra weight made him because it meant she was healthy, and she hadn’t ever experienced starvation, or suffered the consequences of only having eaten ration pills for a period of time. His words never stuck for too long though, and so she’d usually resort to the method she had now.

On a normal day of work at the Hokage’s Tower, when she wasn’t expecting to see anyone besides a few stray shinobi that needed information for their upcoming missions, she’d usually pick between her ‘nice’ pair of sweatpants or a loose dress, trying to keep in mind that she usually had to be able to climb shelves to reach certain files. And while wearing something with a tight pencil skirt had become a signature for the days where she was seen by others, she needed something extra today to try to rip her mind out of the fog it had succumbed to.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Shikamaru was surprised when he woke up and the other side of their bed was empty, Athena usually trying to stay asleep as long as possible, but he could hear her humming somewhere else in their apartment, so he wasn’t in a rush to find her. Once he had made his way out of bed, however, he kinda wished he had woken a bit earlier, caught her before she had the chance to get dressed. He came to this thought because as he turned into the kitchen and saw Athena, eating her breakfast against the kitchen counter, a wave of possessiveness flowed over him, not bothering to take the time to think over his next actions.

“Where are you going?” Athena jumped a little at his voice, but she quickly gave him a smile, swallowing the food in her mouth before she responded.

“I have the meeting with that Lord today, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember. Are you going to tell me Mirai picked those clothes out too?” It took an extra second for her to realise what he was referring to before she rolled her eyes, still smiling. Yes, she’d picked a shorter skirt, and some seamed stockings, and unbuttoned a couple of extra buttons on her shirt, but she wasn’t showing as much cleavage as she had on the day he was referring too. She’d even go as far as to say she was showing less skin overall, but from the way Shikamaru’s tone changed, it was obvious it wasn’t just a jovial comment intended to tease. “Athena. You should go change. You’ll get cold.”

“I’ll be okay, I’m taking a coat, and you know I overheat all the time anyway.” He stepped closer to her, boxing her in between him and the counter, making her place her bowl down behind her, squinting her eyes slightly as the situation escalated.

“Athena. Go change.”

“No? I like how I look today, even if you don’t.” She went to move his arm that was blocking her way, but he grabbed the back of her neck before she could even wrap her hand around his forearm.

“Are you really going to go against me?”

“Yes! I’m not permanently your submissive, I have my own brain and my own thoughts!” This time Athena was able to push her way out of his grasp, moving to pack the last few things she needed to take with her.

“I know that, but you wanted me to be in control, so which one is it?” He shouted, faltering for only a second when he saw her body tense at the volume of his voice, before he was brought back to their argument as she grabbed her bag and started heading for the door.

“I like you being in control when you’re not an asshole about it! I can look after myself!” She took a final look down the hallway and spotted Eros poking his head out of her office, obviously making a conscious effort to stay out of their way. Once she knew where he was, and knowing in the back of her head that Shikamaru would never compromise his well being over their arguments, she felt better about spitting her last comment at him. “I’ve been able to think for myself long before you were here, and I’ll be able to think for myself long after you’re gone!”

Athena left without putting on her shoes, just grabbing them along with her bag and leaving, slamming the door behind her. She just needed to get out, the soles of her feet be damned.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Someone must’ve been looking out for Shikamaru and Athena that day, aligning the universe in such a way so that Choji and Ino were both present within the tower at the exact time they both needed most. 

Choji had been there to invite Shikamaru out for a quick lunch, intending to invite Athena as well if her meeting had finished by then, but he was instantly pushed back, his friend citing that he had too much work to hang out with him. Choji would’ve been more dismissive of Shikamaru’s attitude if it weren’t for the amount of cigarette butts in the ashtray by his window sill, and the pile of forms, intended for Athena, still stacked perfectly to the side, sitting untouched.

Ino had been loitering around Athena’s office, also intending to invite her friend out to lunch to celebrate and treat her after she had gotten out of a meeting that she had spent so much of her time being anxious about. However, Choji had been the person she encountered instead while waiting in front of Athena’s door, the large man intending to check in on the woman and find out if he was correct in assuming that his friend’s bad mood was down to something that had happened between the pair of them.

“Hey Choji, what’s that face for?” Ino asked, not used to seeing her usually smiley friend with a look of concern so deeply etched upon his face.

“You haven’t seen Athena at all today, have you?”

“No, not yet. Why?” 

“Shikamaru’s in a bad mood, and it looks like the bad mood he usually gets when they’ve had a fight.” 

Before she could ask for more details, they were interrupted by two female voices coming towards them, only being able to identify them as Athena and Shizune’s voices once they seemed to be wrapping up their conversation.

“Well, I’m just glad it went well!” Shizune grinned, walking side by side with Athena.

“Thanks! By the way, is Shikamaru still in his office?” Shizune probably didn’t notice, but Ino and Choji were able to notice the second Athena’s smile went from genuine to a smile that was merely plastered on.

“Uh, I think so, I definitely saw him earlier. Do you want me to go tell him you’re done?”

“No no, I’ll go down myself.”

“Okay! Let me know if you need any more help,” Shizune then gave Athena a quick wave before turning down another hallway, missing the moment Athena’s face dropped, her jaw tensing and her eyes turning towards the floor, watching her feet walk, one foot in front of the other.

“So are you actually going to go see Shikamaru?” Choji asked, shocking Athena for a moment before her face tensed again, letting her eyes roll before she answered him.

“Nope. I am going home while he’s still here,” she retorted, before muttering under her breath, “Try and get some fucking sleep for once.”

Besides her response to Choji, she ignored him and Ino as she moved between them to unlock her office, intending to just to put down her papers and documents before grabbing her bag and leaving once more.

Ino decided to be the one to ask Athena a question this time, knowing that Choji had already had to deal with Shikamaru’s foul mood earlier.

“Could you tell us what’s going on between you two?” Ino hadn’t expected the glare that was sent her way immediately once the words had finished leaving her mouth, being reminded of the phrase ‘if looks could kill’. Athena grabbed her bag and walked back out of her office, slamming the door shut as Ino and Choji jumped back to stay out of her path, continuing to spare glances at each other, watching her lock the door again before beginning to stomp away, ignoring the few times they called after her.

“So, should we go ask Shikamaru what’s going on?” Ino asked Choji, knowing that he was the best person to go talk to Shikamaru and hopefully get an answer about what was going on between him and Athena.

“I think we should just stay out of it. They’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” 

“Yeah, if there was an actual chance they’d break up I’m pretty sure Shikamaru would already have approached her by now to apologise.” Ino just sighed, hoping he was right, not expecting him to say anything else on the matter. “Shikamaru was right, they really do need to get away,”

“Huh?”

“Oh, Shikamaru wants to use the money from the whole ‘no nut november’ thing to take the two of them away somewhere. I’m pretty sure he had a hot spring you recommended in mind.”

“Oh yeah! I know the one. That’d be nice for them to go there.” Ino sighed, still worrying about her friends, not noticing the glint in choji’s eye and he looked at her out of his peripheral view.

“If only one of us could knock out Shikamaru’s competition.” It took Ino a moment before she whipped her head back towards Choji, eyes wide at how calmly he had suggested the idea to her. He decided to say goodbye to Ino and let her think it over without his presence next to her, walking away and leaving her staring ahead at Athena’s door.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Shikamaru didn’t bother announcing his presence as he stepped through the door, settling for putting away his outer layers with a bit more noise, alerting her that he was there without potentially disturbing her. He really didn’t think that she’d be home until he heard Eros’s chirp, turning to see the feline sticking his head out of the bedroom, making it clear that Athena must be in there if Eros had settled in that room and was making no move to leave it and greet him.

Sighing deeply before hiding his peace offering behind his back, he started making his way down the hall. Shikamaru had had all day to think over their spat that morning, playing over every detail in his head, slowly getting angrier at himself as the day went on. He was upset he hadn’t remembered how close Athena was to not accepting the meeting she went to today, upset that he hadn’t remembered how self conscious she got whenever she suddenly had a very deep reaction to some details pertaining any of the four wars. He was most upset that he had been so selfish to not realise that her chosen way of self soothing was dressing herself up until she was satisfied with her own attractiveness.

Even with all of those realisations in his head, he still didn’t know what to apologise for first as he gently knocked on the bedroom door, opening it and seeing the trail of her clothes, having obviously taken them off as soon as she was able. The final nail in his coffin was seeing her body laying on the bed in front of him, leg thrown over the duvet so he could see her oversized shirt and the sweatpants covering her legs. It was obvious that she was uncomfortably warm, her body not used to wearing clothes in bed after sleeping nude for so long because of how much she overheated overnight, especially when they started sharing the same bed on a regular basis. At least he knew that his read on the situation was correct, knowing that the only times she’d suffer through the night with extra fabric on her skin was when she couldn’t stand the sight or thought of her body being uncovered for him, in particular, to see.

“Hey. Can I join you?” He hadn’t expected to hear her whisper ‘sure’ under her breath. He had just asked because he knew he had to start somewhere if he was going to be forgiven by the end of the night. He pulled the bouquet of sunflowers out from behind his back and lay them on the bed, unintentionally providing Athena with a barrier in case she decided to shoo him away. Seeing her smile at them though made him feel more positive about whether he’d get the chance to sleep in the same bed as her that night. He hadn’t realised how much Athena had missed him however, the lack of skinship between them throughout the month making her far more open to forgive him for a silly, early morning spat in favour of having his company.

“I did think you looked really pretty today, ‘Thena…” Shikamaru stated, surprised when she moved to lean over him, placing the sunflowers on his bedside table before squirming her body back a little bit and heavily planting her head on his chest. He started running his fingers through her hair, not daring to break the peaceful silence that fell over them. When Athena did break it however, her words were clear and strong, cutting through the silence confidently.

“You’re really, fucking lucky to have me, Shikamaru.”

“I know I am. I’m sorry I forgot for a second there.”


	26. November 26th

November 26th

While it wasn’t completely unheard of, Ino showing up at their doorstep that morning, unprompted, was still unexpected. The only reason Shikamaru didn’t shoo her away when he opened the door was purely because he wasn’t given the chance, his friend immediately calling into the apartment behind him, telling Athena she had something important to tell her. He tried to ask her what could possibly be so important that she was banging on their door to speak to Athena, but not important enough to tell him about, to which Ino continued to not answer until Athena’s head popped out of their bedroom. Ino felt slightly bad that Athena had obviously been half asleep, her eyelids not opening fully, eyes still too sensitive to the light, but it didn’t stop her from accepting her half-hearted invitation to come inside, much to Shikamaru’s chagrin. He followed Ino back down the hall, still suspicious of her intent, but kept his actions to just kissing Athena and telling her he was leaving. The way Ino’s eyes glowed in happiness when she heard Shikamaru was leaving only increased his suspicions, some of it turning into worry.

Athena crawled back into bed, sitting her pillows up against the headboard so she didn’t pass out mid conversation while Ino kept her subjects trivial until they heard the front door close, in which Ino immediately sat cross legged in front of Athena and excitedly changed the subject.

“Okay, so you know how Sai reads all those books about relationships and sex?”

“Yeah?” Athena wasn’t awake enough for this. She loved Ino, but unless she mentioned something that piqued her interest, she was absolutely tucking herself back in and letting Ino’s words help her drift back to sleep.

“Well, a while ago he asked if I was interested in pegging him!” And there was the incentive Athena needed, her eyes going wide at the words that Ino had said.

“Oh my god, and you’re telling me now because-”

“Because I did it!” Athena’s open mouth lifted up at the edges as she watched Ino fall on her back giggling uncontrollably, shocked, but happy for her.

“Okay, no, now you need to tell me everything,”

“I don’t know what to say, I’m still kind of in awe at myself for doing it, but Sai showed me that he had gotten the …  _ equipment _ in case I wanted to try it, so I went home last night and, well, did it!”

“Awww, my little girl is all grown up.” She wiped fake tears from her eyes, snickering as Ino stuck her tongue out, not being able to come up with a witty retort while she was still a bit light-headed from laughing. “So did you like it? Would you do it again?”

“Umm, I think I would!” Ino took a moment to cover her ever reddening face before continuing, “and it actually felt really good, even though I didn’t, I guess, ‘get anything’ out of it.”

“Wait, so you didn’t, like, force him to make you cum beforehand or anything? You didn’t make him beg?”

“Look, we’re not into the whole master and slave shit like you two,” When the words left her mouth Ino wasn’t shocked to see Athena smirk, knowing that she was pretty good at perceiving what she was thinking. She could only cringe as she waited for the blow.

“But now that I’ve said it, you’re thinking about it, aren’t you?”

“No!”

“Oh, you totally are!”

“Shut up!”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Shikamaru came back from a 5 minute break to see that Shino, Kiba, Sai, and Naruto had congregated around his desk, with Naruto and Kiba trying to rifle through his drawers and shelves.

“You know the Hokage would have reason to torture you if you read anything you weren’t meant to, right?” At Shikamaru’s voice, Kiba and Naruto flinched before retreating behind Shino and Sai. “So what are you guys doing here?”

“Well it would appear you’ve won the bet.” Shino said, his voice continuing to maintain its neutral tone. Shikamaru wanted to rejoice, wanted to head home early and  _ celebrate _ with his partner, but he knew Shino well enough to hold on to his feelings until he was finished talking.

“But?” Shikamaru prompted.

“But, Sai reminded these two that the winner only got the money if they lasted the entire month, not just until they were the last one left.”

“Yeah, I remember. I’ll be sure to let you know if I don’t last.” He drawled, trying to cover his disappointment with the amusement he felt at seeing Kiba and Naruto sag, obviously having wanted to see him lose his temper, or something of the like. “If that’s all you needed to say, can you leave so I can get back to work?”

The others nodded and said their goodbyes before vacating the room, leaving Shikamaru alone in the room, shutting the door behind him. When he had sat back in his chair, sitting opposite his desk, he lightly placed his forehead on the cool wood, finally letting what he had just been told properly sink in.

“Shit.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Greeting Shikamaru when he walked through the door was Athena, poised on their couch, trying to look casual in her matching pyjama set, consisting of a bralette and shorts, despite there still being a slight chill being carried through the apartment. He could only give her a sad smile, trying to convey his own disappointment while he watched her face drop to match his.

“So I’m guessing being fucked dumb isn’t on the menu tonight?” She asked, moving herself until she was in a more relaxed position and grabbing the blanket from behind her and wrapping it around her shoulders.

“No. I’m sorry, baby.” He apologised, moving to sit beside her before moving the blanket to cover both of their shoulders, grabbing her legs and placing them over his lap as he began mindlessly running his fingers along her skin. They both let the silence sit for a minute as they just enjoyed the warmth coming from each other’s bodies.

“Is it that you have to last the whole month to actually win the money?”

“Yeah. I think Shino would’ve let it go if Sai hadn’t reminded Kiba and Naruto.” Shikamaru made a point of lifting the blanket from around them and looking over Athena’s body, pulling her further into his side before speaking again. “You look really hot in that, by the way.”

“Thanks, I’m glad you like it.”

“I do. I like it so much that I think you should get to watch one of your weird documentaries tonight.”

“A really violent one that’ll turn you off?” Athena smirked.

“The bloodier, the better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #PegAllMen2020 ?


	27. November 27th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, they're finally doing a thing! 3000+ words of a thing!

November 27th

Today had been the same as most other days that month. Shikamaru woke up to discover how tightly coiled his body had become with Athenas's, trying his best to not wake her up as he tried to escape, but always jolting her awake in the process before he escaped and began his day. Once Athena had been awoken, she’d usually only stay awake long enough to watch her partner as he moved around their room, showering before he got dressed for the day, leaving the room only after giving her a goodbye kiss incase she had drifted back to sleep by the time he was actually leaving their home. From there she usually did fall back asleep, one of the perks of keeping her own schedule, but she’d try to stay awake long enough to hear Shikamaru’s conversations with Eros, his voice always lulling her back to sleep in the end. To anyone else, he’d deny his ramblings with the feline each morning, but Athena cherished hearing the back and forth between them.

From there she really didn’t see or think too deeply about him until he returned home, so Athena didn’t understand why her body began to produce what felt like buckets of slick when she had joined him in the kitchen as he started preparing a basic dinner for the two of them. She was used to feeling her body reacting like this when she saw him, but it was always a steady build over a period of time up until he did or said something that made her want to jump him. Well, there was a small bundle of heat in the depths of her stomach, but nothing compared to the days when he had unknowingly been turning her on for hours, nearly turning her feral by the time she actually got to him.

This wetness however was, seemingly, coming out of nowhere. 

Shikamaru had only said a few sentences to her all day between this morning and this very moment. And yes, she did think he was incredibly attractive as he stood in front of the stove cooking in his pyjamas, the sleeves of his black t-shirt only helping to accentuate his biceps each time his arms moved. And when he’d reach up to grab something, his toned abdomen would be on show, allowing her eyes to begin staring intently at the light trail of hair leading down into his low-slung flannel pants. 

“Hey, you okay?” Shikamaru broke Athena away from her lustful thoughts, humming back at him with her eyes wide. “Where did you go just then?” 

“Uh, y’know, just thinking.”

“Anything you wanna talk about?”

“Nah, it’s just mindless thoughts.” Part of her wanted to tell him how wet she was, try to say it in such a salacious way that his blush would travel from his face all the way down the column of his neck. Eros only interrupted her thoughts further when he tried walking between her legs, causing her to cross her legs over the other as she tried to maintain her balance, her thighs pushing her underwear closer to her groin, forcing Athena to acknowledge the cool, wet feeling of the fabric against her skin. 

She decided to tell Shikamaru that she merely had to pee, hoping to stop him from checking on her if she took a second too long for his liking, before Athena tried to casually walk towards the ensuite in their bedroom to survey the damage between her thighs.

Pulling her underwear down, she was shocked to see a few strings of her arousal connecting her skin and the fabric, watching as each one broke as she continued pulling them down and off of her legs. The crotch of the garment was a far deeper shade than the rest, obviously having soaked up what it could of her slick before the cotton couldn’t hold any more. On a whim she checked her shorts as well, only becoming more embarrassed as she felt that, while they weren’t wet in the same way her underwear was, they definitely felt damp.

Wiping herself and hoping that getting rid of the excess would make dealing with it far more manageable, she redressed herself into clean pairs of underwear and shorts before going back out to Shikamaru.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Athena had forgotten about how wet she had gotten by the time they began eating their dinner, having no other problems while they ate, did the dishes, and throughout the entire time they sat against each other, cuddled up on the couch. Even when he let her braid his hair, she only felt the same happy butterflies that came with sharing these small, intimate moments between them.

It wasn’t until she woke in the early hours of the morning that she felt the same wetness as she had before, now feeling it on the inside of her thighs as well. The bundle of heat that she ignored earlier had also returned, no longer allowing itself to continue going unnoticed. Athena bit her lip as she shut her eyes, trying not to let out the smallest moan as she unintentionally squeezed her thighs together. 

Detangling herself from Shikamaru, being able to rearrange his limbs until she could crawl free without disturbing him, his body being far more malleable in his sleep than she apparently was, Athena quietly walked to the bathroom. Turning the light on and shutting the door behind her, her first instinct was to sit up on the marble counter next to the sink, hoping the cold might quell the heat within her. It didn’t, in fact it just made her far more aware of how hot the area between her legs felt, and how she could almost feel the blood pumping past her clit, desperately crying to be touched. 

She thought over her options, deciding it was best to sit on the floor and hope she could make herself cum quickly, but she worried about if that’d make her feel better, or if it would backfire and only make her desperate for more.

A knock on the door startled her, deciding quickly to just let her head hang as Shikamaru turned the door handle and opened the door slightly so he could see her reflection in the mirror.

“Hey baby, you okay?”

“Uh, yeah. I’m fine. Just feel kinda weird, that’s all.” He walked into the room, moving to stand behind her and gently wrap his arms around her waist, not wanting to put any pressure on her stomach in case she felt sick. 

“Do you need me to get you anything?” God, all the comments Athena wanted to throw over her shoulder at him, but as her brain thought of them, she felt a stronger pulse between her legs, making her choke out a moan and grab onto Shikamaru’s forearm to try and ground herself. A smirk grew on his face as he moved his hold on her so that his clasped hands casually hung under the pouch of her belly, now placed parallel to the apex of her thighs. “What? Do you need me to make you cum again?”

Athena shyly nodded her head, muttering her apologies to him, feeling bad that she had somehow become this wound up. Spinning her around gently, Shikamaru tilted her chin up before threading his fingers through the front of her hair, effectively pulling the hair away from her face as he held the back of her head, forcing her to maintain eye contact with him. He knew she could go down a spiral of constantly apologising, so he wanted to put a stop to it now before she truly started.

“If you apologise again without being prompted you will be punished, got it?”

“Yes, sir,” Her voice was still quiet, but he let it go, at least for now.

“Do you need to tell me anything?” Athena closed her eyes before she spoke, not wanting to look him in the eyes when she told him,

“I’m just… really wet.” Shikamaru didn’t respond, just pulling her head towards him and kissing her firmly and passionately, pushing his tongue into her mouth within the first few seconds. He only pulled away when he couldn’t stop another smirk from taking over his face when Athena had begun to whimper into the kiss, her hands grabbing onto his biceps to try and pull him closer. Picking her up under her thighs, he got his first sense of how wet she truly was, her underwear now pushed up against his bare abdomen, leaving a glossy, translucent streak on his skin as he placed her down on the edge of the bed to pull them off. Shikamaru bit his lip as her slick did what it had done earlier that night, one or two strings of her arousal stretching and breaking off as he dragged her underwear down her legs before dropping them on the floor next to him. He knew as soon as he had actually realised how wet she was that he couldn’t just finger her this time; he desperately needed to taste her. 

Picking her up once more, Athena was surprised when Shikamaru moved them until he placed his head down on his own pillow, placing her on top of him. It didn’t take long for her lust addled brain to piece together what he was about to do to her, but when it did, she couldn’t stop herself from releasing another quiet moan, prompting him to chuckle at how wanton she was.

“C’mon baby, move your slutty ass up here so I can taste you.” He was going to reach his hands out to give her some support as she moved her way up his body, but he watched as she quickly navigated her way up his torso unassisted, only faltering when she kneeled above his neck, which he took advantage of as he slipped his arms through her legs to grab on to the back of her thighs, pulling her the last little bit until her dripping cunt was directly above his mouth.

Flicking his eyes up to watch as she placed one hand on the headboard above him, her dominant hand laying next to his head in preparation to grab at his hair, only tightening his grip on her thighs once he knew she was ready.

Lowering her down to his mouth, he held on tight as Athena gasped, her body jumping away from him automatically when his tongue made its first swipe over her lips. If he hadn't known any better, he would’ve thought that all the slick that gathered on his tongue on his first pass over her sex had only amassed to this amount after she had cum at least half a dozen times. 

He smirked to himself as he looked up at her, her eyes already scrunched closed and her breaths coming out in heavy pants. If she was truly this wound up, he thought that he should probably make her cum quickly to lessen her pain.

Pulling her body lower still until his nose bumped up against the beginning of her slit, he began a series of wide licks, flattening his tongue as he dragged it over her hole, trying his best to efficiently clean her up before he proceeded further. Once he was satisfied that he’d cleaned her up well enough, only new slick and his saliva coating her, he zeroed in on her clit, starting with small kitten licks as the noises she made started going from closed mouth whimpers to small moans begrudgingly leaving her throat as she tried to stifle them. While it had been a while since he had eaten her out, he knew she should be louder, even if he had just started. 

His tongue started flicking wildly across her clit, making sure to aim himself so the tip of his tongue would catch on the hood, enjoying the feeling of her whole vulva contracting when the veins on the underside ran back over her fully exposed clit as it retracted into his mouth before repeating the movement. She jolted each time he did it and he tried to keep it sporadic so she didn’t know when his tongue would abuse her bundle of nerve endings, but she still hadn’t released even one uncontrolled moan that he was satisfied with.

Giving her clit a quick, hard suck to get her attention, he unwrapped one of his arms from around the back of her leg and reached up to grab at her neck.

“Are you not liking this? Should I stop and leave your cute, little hole alone?”

“N-no, sir.” Athena kept her eyes closed, scared of all the ways he could punish her and leave her begging for him to help her.

“Am I not making you feel good?”

“No. You are, Sir.”

“Then fucking sound like it.” Shikamaru didn’t give her any time to take in his words before he pressed his mouth back onto her clit and started sucking harshly, finally forcing her to scream out freely before she could stifle herself, causing the corners of his mouth to lift up as much as they could in their position.

It didn’t take much longer until her free hand threaded itself through his hair, the loose braid still tied up allowing her to get a firm grip as she pulled, causing him to moan against her clit. The vibrations coming from his mouth made her release a shameless groan that turned into a pathetic series of whimpers.

“Please! Please! Need you in me!” Athena cried, squealing as she received a swift spank against the outside of her thigh.

“You’ll take what I give you, you little cockslut. Keep your mouth shut unless you’re using it to scream.” She whimpered in response, but she kept her mouth shut and waited while Shikamaru continued looking up at her. His mouth had moved away from her skin while he spoke, so he decided to keep it that way for a few more seconds as a small punishment for her outburst. As soon as his tongue returned to her clit, flicking against it at a fast pace, he began moaning once more when her grip tightened on his hair again. He released his tight grip on her thighs as she started rocking her hips, her moans becoming more guttural in sound, and far more frequent as he returned to sucking on her clit, knowing that it was always the best way of getting her to fly over the edge.

When she did, head leaning forward to lay on the hand still gripping tightly onto the headboard, she opened her eyes slightly to watch as Shikamaru enthusiastically lapped up the cum that had poured out of her. He waited for her body to start trying to pull away from his mouth, waited until her breathing wasn’t coming from directly above him, letting him know that her head had moved and she was no longer looking directly at him, before he plunged a single finger into her. 

Athena screamed and moved her hand further up his head, trying to push against his forehead to get his mouth away from her. He started licking gently at her clit again, giving her a chance to tell him to stop, that it was too much, but when she didn’t give him any of their verbal or physical cues to stop, and her hand slipped back down to the crown of his head as it had been previously, he started suckling on her clit and curling his finger as he trust it back and forth inside of her. When her hips stuttered, he knew he had found her g spot, beginning to then focus all of his attention on that one spot, prodding at her insides as she began tensing up again.

Shikamaru was trying his best to distract himself from the pain coming from his dick as it lay confined within his pants, but as she began to get closer and her hips rutted faster against hips mouth, he couldn’t stop himself from using his free hand to release it from it’s confines just to get some relief from the suffocating pressure it was under. When Athena heard the heavy slap against his abdomen, she whimpered even before she looked over her shoulder to finally see his cock, fully erect, for the first time since this stupid month had started.

Seeing it smearing pre cum over his abdomen, the head going slightly purple from how hard it was, caused her to lose herself as she came again, beginning to squirt over Shikamaru’s face as she screamed. 

Once she was done, Shikamaru having helped her through her orgasm, he finally released his grip on her thighs fully, finally letting her move her hips away from him. She was careful as she lightly put her weight on his chest, taking a moment to get her breath back before she moved further, but she got distracted when she saw how he was looking up at her. 

He had clear droplets of her cum all over his face, but he still had a soft smile upon his face that he directed towards her, his eyelids laying heavy as he looked up at her. Even though he had just had his face pressed up against her sex, seeing him looking at her like that, looking so completely infatuated with her, it sent her into a giggle fit. His smile only got wider as he watched her continually try to stifle her laughter, only for it to burst out from her lips each time. She finally lifted herself off of him, purely because she wasn’t going to stop giggling the longer he kept looking directly up at her, gently rubbing his thumbs over her thighs.

Once she had moved, he sat up and pulled his t-shirt over his head, using it to wipe down his face.

“Umm, honey?” Shikamaru turned to see Athena covering her eyes with her hands, making another smile bloom on his face as he made an educated guess on what she was about to ask him.

“Yeah?”

“Could you please help me to the toilet?” Athena looked so sad when his first reaction was to begin chuckling at her question, but she wasn’t able to hold off her smile for long. She knew how pathetic the question sounded, but they both still started laughing at the unsaid fact that he had eaten her out to the point her legs refused to cooperate any further, as had happened many times before.

Shikamaru hissed as he tucked his, still erect, penis back into his pants before he stood and began making his way to Athena so he could carry her to the bathroom. Once they had both made it and Athena had sat down to pee and tried to clean up the mess between her thighs, Shikamaru leaned against the same sink he had found her on earlier.

“Do you need me to get you anything?” He asked.

“If you could get me something to drink that’d be nice, but it can wait until after you shower.”

“Nope. Getting you your drink first.”

Athena laughed loudly at the absurdity of their relationship as he leaned down to kiss her before leaving to get her drink, not acknowledging in the slightest that she was still sat on the toilet, right after he had just finished eating her out as if it was the first time he had gotten a taste of her all over again. 

Yeah, they probably were too relaxed as a couple, but neither of them would even think of changing it.


	28. November 28th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as of right now, I am 1,086 words away from completing NaNoWriMo (writing 50K words in November) 😳

November 28th

Athena woke up and rolled over even before she opened her eyes, intending to spoon her lover , only to feel the cold, bare sheets. Opening her eyes  all she could see was Eros,  loaf-ed atop Shikamaru’s pillow.  He was trying to use his bandaged foot to scratch the side of his face now that it had healed, but the splint and bandage were preventing him from stretching his leg far enough to reach his head.

“I know, my love. We’re going to the vet tomorrow and hopefully they’ll say you can have it off. Just a lil’ longer, okay?” Eros meowed in response, happily allowing Athena to scratch his face with her nails in place of his claws. “Okay, let’s get up and find your dad, yeah?” Releasing a chirp this time instead of a meow, the feline still sat up on the pillow, waiting for Athena to stand up before going to jump off the bed.

Once she was up, the dull ache along her inner thighs made itself known. Kneeling over Shikamaru’s face, holding herself up, and the constant contractions of her lower body both times she came had obviously put a larger strain on her muscles than she had realised.

Nonetheless, she continued to hobble her way to the kitchen, finding it empty as well. She was sure today was meant to be Shikamaru’s day off, it even said so on the calendar when she turned to check it. It wasn’t until she turned towards the fridge that she figured he must have gone out.  There was a note with his handwriting scrawled on it stuck to the door with a magnet, providing her with an explanation of his whereabouts. 

The note read:

_ I brushed my teeth twice and I can still taste you, so I’m going to hole up in my office for the day and have my day off moved. I promise I’ll move that day off to next month and I’ll spend as many hours as it takes to make it up to you. _

_ Hope you’re feeling good and nothing hurts too much, _

_ I love you and I’ll come home later tonight.  _

The thought of Shikamaru standing over the sink, furiously trying to brush the taste of her away, only to end up having to find something to distract him from the temptation her cum taunted him with, filled her with joy. She remembered the many mornings that she’d wake up with him already positioned between her thighs, hovering over her and lavashing her neck with kisses until she woke up, immediately begging her to let him go down on her again. There hadn’t been a time yet where she had said no to him, but even if she wanted to turn him down, the look of his dilated pupils and messy bed head, coupled with the deep tone of his morning voice as he begged to eat her out, always made a very compelling argument as to why she should just say yes and reap the benefits.

She had asked once why he liked going down on her so much, only for him to turn the question back towards her, asking her why she always wanted to have his cock in her mouth. Athena answered by explaining how she liked seeing him fall apart above her and knowing that she was the cause of it, and that he was entrusting her with one of the most intimate parts of his body and trusting her to pleasure him; trusting her to never intentionally, or non-consensually, bring his body harm.

He responded to her original question by explaining that he felt the emotions that she experienced, only elaborating further when he confessed he liked having the power to take her pain away and having her trust him to only cause her pain when he knew that it’d heighten her pleasure. 

Athena now stood in their shared kitchen, rereading Shikamaru’s note again and started to feel an overwhelming sense of guilt wash over her. He still hadn’t gotten any proper sense of relief throughout the whole month, but he never said no to helping her get the relief she craved.  He had even been the one to initiate it when Athena had tried to keep her arousal a secret from him. She lifted her head to look at Eros, who she had heard trotting his way over to her, his claws tapping against the floor.

“Hey bud, what do you think Mummy should get Daddy as an apology gift?” For a moment it looked like Eros was actually thinking over her question, but Athena had that idea shattered when he trotted over to where his food was kept, pawing at the door as he looked straight at her. “You can’t have more food, bubby. I’ll give you a treat though, is that good enough?” 

It appeared to be enough for Eros, eagerly moving out of the way as she opened it and grabbed a box of treats, trying her hardest to keep him from slithering in into the depths of the cupboard, only barely succeeding.

She opened up the box of mixed treats, given to them by Lee who had apparently panicked over what flavour Eros would like, and picked up a small handful. Each treat was shaped as a few different things, each corresponding to the flavour, but Athena picked out two little fish-shaped treats before putting the rest back in the box.

“You want some fishies?” Eros eagerly sat at her feet, watching the hand holding them each time it moved, “Okay, here you go.” Placing them on the floor in front of her feet, he rushed forward and began devouring them.

“Well, looks like you like those ones, which are,” She paused to check the back of the box, reading through each flavour, “Salmon!” Athena looked back down at the cat below her, feeling a bit upset that he didn’t seem interested in the flavour of the food that he was already finishing off.

After Eros had licked the floor clean, making sure he had gotten every particle of food he had been given, he jumped as he heard Athena gasp loudly. He watched over his shoulder as she went through a few cabinets, seemingly excited about whatever she was looking for, but he decided quickly that he’d rather jump up onto the couch and fall back asleep. So long as she wasn’t preparing to give him food or cuddles, he came to the decision that whatever she was doing wasn’t worth his interest.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Oh, Athena!” Athena stopped walking her way through the halls of the Hokage’s Tower and waited as a teenage girl came running down the hall towards her. “Hey, please tell me you’re here to see Shikamaru.”

“Uh, yeah, I am. Why?”

“Oh thank god. He’s been in a bad mood all day! I really hope you can make him stop.”

“Uh, okay. I’ll try my best.” The girl ran off again, leaving Athena feeling even worse. She knew Shikamaru could get crabby sometimes, especially when it had something to do with her. It started off sweet, but Choji had to talk to him about it after the fifth mission report came back with the exact same comments as the ones before; praising Shikamaru for the first three weeks of a month long mission, the fourth week always having a complaint about how short his temper became the closer they came to completion always scrawled at the bottom. She felt partially responsible for whatever that girl had been subjected to, but hopefully the present she was dropping off for him would calm him down a bit.

When she came to stand in front of his office, she knocked lightly and waited until he called her in, enjoying the flash of surprise that appeared on his face when she walked in.

She walked in to see Shikamaru leaning against the open window, a cigarette held between his fingers while he continued to face Shino who stood on the other side of the window.

“Oh, sorry if I interrupted something. I can wait outside.” Athena apologised, already moving to grab the door handle again.

“No, our conversation had just about concluded. I was about to say my goodbyes and leave.” Shino assured her, turning towards Shikamaru and sharing a nod with him before he made his way to the door, promptly leaving and shutting the door behind him.

“Do you think he thinks I came here to fuck you or something?” Shikamaru chuckled at Athena’s concerned face, knowing she still hadn’t recovered from finding out that Shino had unintentionally seen her bent backwards over her desk, potentially also seeing her breast, but she didn’t want to ask the man to find out.

“I don’t know, are you?” He replied, taking one more inhale of smoke before he put out his cigarette and turned his full attention to her.

“I don’t know, am I? You’re the one yelling at the brand new Chunins just because you won’t get your dick wet.” He sighed back at her, hanging his head in either embarrassment or shame, most likely a mix of both.

“Yeah, I know. Sorry.” He watched as she sat down in his chair, beginning to have a look through some of the things that littered his desk. Knowing that he should tell her to leave his stuff alone, the same way he had with Naruto and Kiba, a smirk grew on his face as he stood behind her and placed his hands gently on her shoulders, letting her mistake his touch as an innocent gesture. He only broke that illusion when he placed his lips just under her ear, chuckling quietly when she experienced a full body chill from his warm breath hitting her skin. “I think they’d understand though if they knew what a cute, little pussy you have.” He whispered against her skin, pulling back and relaxing back into a relaxed stance before she could hit him.

“No! You know how much I hate that word!” She screamed at him while she hit him, getting a few good slaps to hit his arms. She contemplated leaving the room without giving him his gift, but she had put too much effort into it to just go and throw it out. 

Still maintaining her pout, she shoved a bento box in his direction, effectively stopping his laughter as he went to reach for it. Opening it carefully, he couldn’t help but look up and send Athena a love sick smile before he looked back down at the box’s contents. It was very basic, only being filled with rice and a rolled omelette, but the grilled mackerel that sat on top of the rice meant so much to him. Carefully putting the lid back on the bento and placing it on his desk, he grabbed at Athena’s cheeks and swooped in to give her a passionate kiss, only pulling back once they both needed air.

“I nearly threw up making that, so it better be enough to stop you yelling at teenage girls.” Shikamaru could only nod before he pulled her in for another kiss, this one softer to show his appreciation. He grew up eating fish pretty regularly, mackerel always being his favourite, but Athena couldn’t stand the smell, so it became something he only enjoyed when they were out, the fish already being cooked by the time it came anywhere near her nose.

“I’m surprised you even know how to cook fish.”

“I don’t, but I was supposed to make it for you when you set up my office. I got your mum’s recipe beforehand, intending to make it for you then. I followed it word for word, so if you get food poisoning, you have to go blame her.” 

If it wasn’t for a series of knocks on his door, Shikamaru knew he’d dive in to kiss her again,  only stopping once he needed to breathe , or until she pushed him away. Out of habit, both of them called out for the person to come in, Athena smiling sweetly when the girl from before opened the door.

“Oh! I’m sorry for interrupting, I just wanted to ask if you needed me to do anything else before I went on my lunch break.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m about to eat lunch too, so take your time.” His voice came out in such a cool, calm manner that it was hard to believe he was the same man linking his pinkie with his girlfriend under the desk, out of sight from anyone else. The young girl directed a smile straight at Athena before she thanked Shikamaru, quickly taking her leave.

Athena chortled against Shikamaru’s lips as they met hers again as soon as the door had closed and she had turned her head towards him. She let him get away with kissing her a few more times before she yelled at him to eat his food, watching happily as he ate it, smiling enthusiastically at her after nearly every bite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, no hate on the word 'pussy', it's just a word that makes me squirm in the same way that people don't like 'moist'.


	29. November 29th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So at 2:29am on the 30th of November I completed my very first nanowrimo, having written over 50K words over both this story and the He and I chapters I wrote. I just want to thank people for their support on my silly little side project, leaving comments and kudos to keep me motivated.   
> Also just want to give a shout out to my asexual best friend, Mittens, for editing a whole bunch of these chapters, never blinking an eye at what my horny brain had conjured up each day.

November 29th

If Shikamaru hadn’t truly been in love with their little family unit before, he was now. He was sitting in a waiting room watching Athena pace around the space with Eros balanced on her hip. Eros’s head was the only part of him actively moving, trying to take in all that he could of the sterile room, the claws embedded into Athena’s t-shirt giving away the true mindset he was in.

When the vet called for them, Athena spoke to her like an old friend, even as Eros ducked away from the women’s touch. Shikamaru was going to introduce himself, but he had been interrupted as Eros climbed his way up Athena’s shoulder before jumping the short distance between them. The feline was lucky that Shikamaru had quick reflexes, caught him and then continued to support his body in his arms, even after Eros’s claws had extended through his shirt and grazed his skin. Shikamaru decided the scratches were worth it when he saw the bright smile Athena gave the two of them, dreamily taking in the sight of her two boys.

He had questioned why she was so adamant that he came to this vet appointment with them, but it became clear when it took both of them to hold Eros still enough for the vet to safely remove his cast and check his leg. As soon as the vet had let his leg go and moved until he was out of her reach, Eros wriggled his way out of their grasp and jumped back on to Shikamaru, leaving more angry lines along his skin as he clung on to him once more, obviously aware that he had a better chance at safety with him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

They placed Eros down at their front door step and watched as he started doing laps around their apartment as soon as his feet hit the ground, enjoying the freedom having his back leg unrestrained gave him. Even though he received more than enough treats from the veterinary assistant, most of them becoming smitten at the sight of Shikamaru cradling Eros in his arms, Athena still went and received a few more to give him now that they were home. Athena sat herself down on the floor and began to throw the treats one at a time down the hallway directly in front of her, watching as Eros would go galloping towards the treat, consume it, then come running back to his starting position for another one. Shikamaru stood next to where Athena sat and watched the two, enjoying the sound of all four paws hitting the hardwood floor in quick succession, sometimes accompanied by his chitters when Athena teased him lightly before throwing the next one. When Eros had eaten the handful of treats, he chittered louder at her, placing his front paws on her knees so he could get up close to her face.

“I’m sorry, honey. No more. No more!” Athena spoke in her baby voice as she tried to show Eros that they had finished with the treats, letting him sniff and lick the palms of her outstretched hands to try and prove her point. She only got more chirps and meows back, profoundly displeased at the lack of treats.

Athena sent Shikamaru a bemused glance in between attempts at placating their son with deep scratches around his ears and chin, only to have his chirping resume whenever she attempted to move her hands away. While she continued to try and reason with Eros, Shikamaru untied his hair and made his way down to the other side of the hallway, calling out to the cat as he went. Placing his back up against the wall before using it to slide his way down to the floor, Shikamaru held up his hair tie on one of his fingers, quickly gaining Eros’s attention and prompting him to leave Athena’s lap in favour of trotting gingerly down the hallway towards Shikamaru. 

Slowing to a stop about ⅔ of the way down the hall, Eros watched intently as Shikamaru pulled it taut between his two index fingers before releasing it, the hair tie flying across to Athena’s side of the apartment with Eros running behind it.

Once the hair tie had hit the ground, the cat played with it for a moment before picking it up in his mouth and looking between his two ‘parents’ for instruction of what to do next. Hearing Athena call for him, he made his way towards her and dropped the hair tie in front of her, pulling his head away when she tried to offer him praise. His only interest was to watch her fling the hair tie back towards Shikamaru, proceeding to gallop after it as soon as it left her finger tips.

The three of them went back and forth like that, Eros continuing to bring the hair tie back to whoever he was closest to, even learning to swat it closer when he released it from his mouth too far out of their reach, continuing to chase after it again once it was on it’s way back to the other person. The game lasted a good ten minutes, Eros choosing to let them know he was finished by picking up the hair tie as he always did, but instead deciding to carry it across to the couch, bringing it up with him as he jumped and then sitting, laying the hair tie on top of his paws, placing his chin over it for safekeeping. 

The couple sent each other soft smiles from their positions on opposite sides of their home, Shikamaru being the first to get up from the floor before making his way to Athena, helping her get to her feet as well. Still holding her hands after pulling her up, he tugged her closer to him, kissing her gently. The couple shared a few more small kisses before Shikamaru properly pulled away and turned his head towards Eros, pretending to think something over before he turned back to her.

“Hey, if we went away somewhere, would you trust my mum to look after Eros?” He could tell his question threw her off guard, but he chose to not elaborate, just waiting quietly for her to answer.

“Uh, yeah, I guess. Why?” Athena watched as a smirk took over his face, tilting her head to the side in confusion as he bent slightly, his hands moving to her shoulders to keep her attention focused on him.

“Because she’s coming to pick him up tomorrow morning, so you need to start packing your things.”

“O-oh. Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.” He released her just long enough for her to start making her way towards the hall, shocking her when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back towards him, getting so close to her face that their noses nearly touched. Athena always got flustered when he manhandled her like that, something he liked taking advantage of far too often. “I should probably mention that you won’t be needing a lot of clothes. 

Moving his head back so he could see her face fully, he nearly lost his composure as he took in what he alone had done to her.

Her eyes were wide and glassy as they met his, her lips parting gently as her bottom lip escaped the hold her teeth had on it.

Actually moving his body so he’d be out of her way, gently pushing her forward with a hand now placed on her back, he watched her walk towards their bedroom, only looking back at him once more before she entered and shut the door behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope to finish the chapter containing both November 30th AND December 1st (wink wink) by tomorrow night, so I hope you guys enjoy this last little fluffy chapter before we getting into the more, uh, Adult Content


	30. November 30th + December 1st

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S FINALLY DONE
> 
> Sorry that it took so much longer than I expected it to, but it was very sweet of you guys to still all send comments to me telling me how much you liked my fic and couldn't wait for this last chapter.
> 
> Hopefully it being roughly 7500 words makes up for the time you had to wait 😉

_ “The others are not aware of this, so I’d like you to keep this between us.” Shino insisted, standing in front of Shikamaru’s desk. Shikamaru sat with his hands clasped together on top of the table, holding his head up as he squinted at his friend. “I still feel guilty for the assumptions I made about you, as well as unintentionally putting Miss Athena in such an uncomfortable position. Because of this, I would like to give you the money from the bet early as I’ve been told that you had plans to use it to go travelling together.”  _

_ Shikamaru scoffed, thinking about the thank you meal Choji must have already begun thinking of making him pay for.  _

_ Getting up and walking to the window beside his desk, he opened the glass panel and grabbed a cigarette and lighter from the pocket of his vest. Lighting up, Shikamaru took the first drag of his cigarette. He could already feel the tobacco begin to mellow out his irritation slightly. He was still wound up from the previous night, still catching the taste of her on the tip of his tongue when he ran it over his bottom lip. Shikamaru’s mouth nearly pulled into a smile as he thought over how he would bring up taking her to the hot springs. He was already able to envision her smile when she first sank into the water, the light moan that would come from her mouth as her body relaxed and her muscles untensed. _

_ Shikamaru only snapped out of his thoughts when Shino’s frame entered his view, the other man choosing to stand across from him on the other side of the window. Shino put his hand in his pocket and presented Shikamaru with a thick envelope, presumably with the money they had all pitched in on halloween night inside it. Taking it and putting it in his pocket, he went to thank Shino, only to be stopped as they both heard a series of knocks at his office door. _

_ Calling them in, assuming it’d just be one of his other colleagues needing an answer or a signature, he was surprised to see Athena smiling back at him. That smile dropped however when she caught sight of Shino. _

_ “Oh, sorry if I interrupted something. I can wait outside.” Before Shikamaru had even begun opening his mouth to reply, Shino had already decided to make his leave when Athena walked in, seeing how awkward she still felt in his presence. _

_ “No, our conversation had just concluded. I was about to say my goodbyes and leave.”  _

_ Nodding respectfully to each other, Shikamaru silently thanked him for giving him the bet money. Shino made his way to the door and shut it behind him in order to give the couple some privacy. _

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

November 30th

It had only taken half a day for the couple to make their way to the small traditional town that held the hot springs. The trip had still left Athena exhausted, which led to Shikamaru holding her hand tightly as he navigated them through to the end of town. He was thankful that there wasn’t much advertising for the springs throughout town as he still hoped to surprise Athena, especially now that she had struggled so much to get there. 

Being so tired, Athena didn’t really register her surroundings. When they had finally stepped through the doors of the ryokan, her head immediately went to rest in the palms of her hands, Shikamaru leading her to a bench with their things while he checked them in. The haze she was trapped in didn’t even lift until Shikamaru had dragged her to the door of their room, lightly shaking her by the shoulder to let her know that they had finally arrived before he unlocked their door. 

Inside, the room was quite large and had tatami mats spread over the floor with a kotatsu sitting near a set of traditional sliding doors. Shikamaru led Athena over to the kotatsu and told her to stay there and warm up, not that surprised when he turned around a few minutes later to find her laying her head on the table top, using her folded arms as a makeshift pillow. 

She heard the shuffling going on behind her, but didn’t bother to look until Shikamaru called her name. He was casually sitting on the floor next to the now set up futon, one that she noticed was large enough for both of them. Sliding out from under the kotatsu and making her way over to the futon, Shikamaru helped her remove the few extra outer layers she had worn to protect her from the cold. He got minimal protest from Athena about being treated like a child, before he helped her get into the bed. After he undressed himself, he turned to see her giving him a soft smile, the sleep evident in her eyes as she patiently waited for him to slide in beside her, quickly taking up her usual spot between his arms, her head laying just beside his.

“I know you haven’t really seen anything, but do you like it here?” He whispered, aware of how heavy her eyelids had gotten now she had given herself permission to start falling asleep.

“Yeah. You’re nice and warm.”

“That wasn’t what I was asking about,”

“I know, now shhh,” Athena murmured, reaching her hand up to gently stroke her fingertips over his face as she shushed him. Grabbing her hand with a smile and giving her knuckles a kiss, he tucked their hands into his chest as he watched her fall asleep, knowing she would be much more excited to be here once her body was rested.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Athena woke up to see Shikamaru reading next to her, sending her a smirk when she started to move slightly.

“Hey, I didn’t think you’d wake up so soon.”

“Shuddup.” Sitting up and wiping the sleep from her eyes, she took another look around the space, her eyes quickly settling on the screen doors on the opposite side of the room. “What’s behind there?”

“You can go look for yourself, it’s my holiday too.” 

Sending him a mocking look, she carefully stood up and made her way over to the screen door. 

Shikamaru rolled onto his stomach to watch as she pulled the door open, smiling to himself when he heard her gasp. What lay in front of Athena’s eyes was a pool of water surrounded by large rocks and bamboo fencing enclosing the area to keep the space private. She looked behind her to see Shikamaru already making his way across to her, a smirk settling on his face as he watched her eyes fill with tears.

“Is it okay?” He fell a few steps backward when she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, his arms quickly taking their place around her waist.

“It’s amazing. Thank you, Shika.” 

After kissing the top of her head, he tilted her head up and brought their lips together, both of them smiling into the kiss. Breaking apart and taking his hands in hers, Athena excitedly brought both sets of hands into her chest, bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet. 

“Can we go in?” 

He nodded at her, beginning to laugh as she made a small squealing sound before she wrapped her arms around him again.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Athena sighed happily as her feet entered the water, using Shikamaru’s outstretched hand to balance herself before she settled down beside him. She leant on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her to keep her close.

“So, not that I’m not grateful or loving this, but what brought this on?”

“Eh, just wanted to take you away somewhere. Wanted a place where it could just be the two of us.”

“Yeah, you picked a really nice place for it.”

“Ino suggested it to me once. The water’s supposed to be good for you.”

“Aww, guess I’ll have to thank her when we get back.” 

Shikamaru agreed with her, opening his arms when Athena moved to straddle him a moment later, laying her head on his shoulder.

“Is this your relaxed way of saying you want me?” He asked, rubbing his hand up and down the expanse of her back that wasn’t covered by the water. He didn’t receive an answer, but he sat silently until she did decide to speak.

“Can I ask something stupid?” 

Shikamaru nodded his head once she had lifted her head from his shoulder, where they proceeded to look into each other's eyes. 

“Can we wait till midnight to … do anything? I know it’s stupid, but it kinda feels like we’re cheating if we don’t wait till the official end of the month after lasting this long.” 

He could only laugh at Athena’s face as her eyebrows furrowed and her lip pouted, clearly feeling sheepish for asking.

“Yeah, I get it. I was going to wait anyway so you could at least get some time to rest and eat before I use you.” Once the words had fully come out of his mouth, he brought her head down to his level to kiss her, enjoying how warm her cheeks felt under the palms of his hands as her mind became plagued by thoughts of what the next day held for her.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After dinner, the two of them decided to get some sleep, instead of waiting up to watch the clock tick away. Shikamaru promised to wake Athena up if he woke up in the middle of the night. She had forced him to promise when he had said that he’d wait for her to wake up naturally so she could get her rest as she wanted to help him cum the moment he woke up past 12am.

What Athena hadn’t thought about was what she would do if she was the first one to wake up, let alone waking up at 11:54pm. Each minute that she watched the clock tick made her wetter, her breathing becoming faster and her body becoming warmer as the suspense built inside of her. 

Athena tried everything to make the time go faster, to find some way of distracting herself from watching the time pass second by second, but nothing could make that last minute go faster. In her head she had thought about using this time to work him up, getting him hard enough to cum the moment the day changed, but she wasn’t going to give him any chance of teasing her, of pushing her off of him, of using her excitement as a reason to punish her. 

She waited patiently, watching the second hand the entire way around the face of the clock until it finally reached midnight.

December 1st

She didn’t bother trying to be quiet as she moved the quilt off of their bodies, immediately reaching her hand forward to cup the bulge through the fabric of his underwear. Looking up and noticing that he still hadn’t shifted or opened his eyes, she stripped herself before tugging his waistband down just enough so that they were out of her way as she leaned down and sucked a hickey into the skin just next to where his penis protruded from his body. Moving away only once she felt she had left a substantial mark, she noticed that Shikamaru had moved slightly, but still had yet to flutter his eyes. She then decided to take his cock, which had only just begun to twitch and harden, into her mouth, moaning as she felt it grow bigger against her tongue.

“Shit.” Hearing his deep voice cuss, as well as seeing his upper body start moving so he could sit up on his elbows and watch her, caused her to release him from her mouth and look up at him. “Hey.” 

Giggling at his out of breath greeting, Athena just wiggled her fingers back at him, smiling wickedly. Then she pulled him back into her mouth, hands gripping tight on his thighs and moaning around him as his fingers slid loosely into her hair. When she released him to get her breath back, her hand moved along his shaft to encourage him to continue getting harder. Shikamaru used the grip on her hair to pull her up and kiss him as much as he could while breathing heavily between breaks. Athena moved both her hands up to his shoulders to push him down long enough so that she could speak. 

“Please use me, Sir. I want you to cum.” Seeing her beg, saliva still running down her chin from going down on him, made him nearly take her at her word, but he was still worried about hurting her small body.

“Baby, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I’ve been resting for a month, Shika.  _ Please _ use me.” Shikamaru took a deep breath as he thought it over, but seeing Athena above him, her nude body being entirely his to use, sped up his decision making. Grabbing her arms and lifting them off of the floor, forcing her to fall onto him with a shout, made it easier to use his strength to roll them both over onto her side of the futon. Shikamaru held himself up on top of her.

“Can I fuck your mouth?” He asked her, nervous of her reaction. But he let out a groan when she happily nodded and opened her mouth up wide, being sure to stick her tongue out as far as she could, offering herself up to him.

She only seemed to grow more eager when he positioned himself on top of her, grabbing his thighs to try and encourage him to move closer to her mouth.

“Do you remember how to say stop?” He felt bad that even as he stood over her, her eager little nod followed by her snapping her fingers together to make a loud  _ click _ ring through the air, was kind of adorable. “Okay, good. You ready?” He swore again as she did a similar small nod before opening her mouth wide again, beginning to breath through her nose as he slid his cock inside of her mouth, groaning loudly when he hit the back of her throat and she closed her lips around him. 

Shikamaru had known he wasn’t going to last after not cumming for so long, and it wasn’t something he was embarrassed about considering the circumstances, but he felt like he’d burst at any moment. She started sucking on him, bunching up her tongue to play with his slit as pre cum continued to dribble out of the tip. Cobbling together the small amount of self control he still had, he made his hands into fists and put them just above her head to stablise himself as he pulled his hips back slightly, before quickly thrusting them forward again. 

Feeling her nails dig into his thighs, combined with the feeling of her tongue running along his shaft as he pushed in, no longer blocking the head of his dick from beginning to gently prod the entrance to her throat. The combination of senses finished him off before he had realised, his cum spurting out of him and directly into her mouth, Athena scrunching her eyes shut as she did her best to swallow a few weeks worth of semen as he whimpered and moaned above her.

Once he had finally finished cumming, his abdomen sore from contracting so tightly for so long, he collapsed off to the side of her, the upper half of his body landing on the floor rather than the futon beneath them. His head was fuzzy and he had trouble thinking or noticing his surroundings for a few minutes, just keeping his eyes closed until the sound of someone persistently coughing penetrated through his senses. Sitting up faster than he should have, he took an extra second to hold his head while his gaze moved to Athena, now sitting up too, as she finished coughing with a final quiet retching sound before her eyes met his.

“Hey, you okay?” She asked, snorting at the dumbfounded expression on his face.

“Uh, yeah, I think.” Shikamaru took a deep breath to try to get his bearings back before continuing, “Are you okay? Did you throw up?” 

She snorted again as she knelt and reached her hands out to him, helping him move back until he was fully on the bed once more.

“Nah, just had to clear my throat a bit.” 

In hindsight, Shikamaru wished he had panicked more about how much cum he had unintentionally forced her to swallow, but he felt like he was fading in and out of consciousness as his body became too heavy to move on his own. Athena ran her fingers through his hair as he fell back to sleep, smiling down at him as she waited until he began to snore before moving to get herself something to drink.

She decided it was probably better not to mention how sore her throat was, not wanting him to suddenly start holding himself back when they still had a whole day to enjoy together.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Shikamaru woke up with a groan before he slowly opened his eyes, reaching his hand out blindly for Athena’s body only to find that she wasn’t beside him.

“I’m over here, honey.” 

Lifting himself up onto his elbows, he turned his head enough to see Athena smiling at him from the kotatsu, wrapped up in a yukata with a small spread of food in front of her.

“There’s breakfast here when you’re ready, but don’t rush yourself.”

“What time is it?” He yawned, laying his head back on the pillow, taking his time to wake up properly while he listened to Athena continue to eat behind him.

“It’s 11am, so feel free to go back to sleep if you need to, but there are two portions of fish here if you want it.” 

Shikamaru rolled onto his stomach so he could get a peek of the food spread over the table top, smiling as she waved at him with a mouth full of rice. He briefly waved back at her before he started making his way over to the table.

“But you won’t go anywhere near me if I smell like fish.” He commented, slipping his underwear back onto his body before sitting across from her, deciding to avoid the fish for now as he waited for Athena’s verdict.

“I could make allowances depending on what I get out of it.” 

Shikamaru decided to stay silent as they continued to eat the rest of the food in front of them, thinking over her answer one last time as Athena finished eating and dramatically lied back on the floor, arms stretched above her. Closing her eyes and sighing loudly, she didn’t notice that Shikamaru had made his way over to her until his hands parted the fabric covering her, his palms moving up her thighs, easing them apart without a word.

“What, you’re still hungry?” she giggled, her laughter forcibly turning into a moan as Shikamaru made the first swipe of his tongue over her clit. He did not wait for the sound to finish leaving her throat before he repeated the motion, this time closing his lips around it and gently suckling on it. He could feel her hands move down to his hair as he continued to suckle patiently, feeling her fingers untie his hair before she fisted the strands. She gave gentle tug, letting him know that he could begin intensifying the subtle movements of his mouth against her sex.

Athena questioned whether he was going at a slower pace on purpose, waiting for her to act out before going further, but that train of thought was interrupted as he thrust two fingers inside her. His mouth still maintained its steady rhythm on her clit as he slowly began thrusting his fingers in and out of her, conscious of the lack of slick that she had produced so far, beginning to increase his speed as he felt the walls surrounding his fingers become wetter; the grip around him becoming tighter. 

She stopped trying to control her moans a little while ago, every second or third pant of breath being accompanied by a wail or a groan louder than the last. The speed of her breathing increased further when she felt his fingers curve inside of her, hitting that particular spot head on and massaging it as his sucking on her clit increased. She screamed loudly as she came, blindsided by it’s arrival as Shikamaru helped her work through it. Then he pulled away from between her thighs and positioned himself above her.

Athena pulled him down for a deep kiss as Shikamaru used the slick still coating his fingers to lube up his cock, only letting his mouth pull away from hers when the head nudged against her wet opening. Shikamaru lent his forehead against hers as he pushed in, exhaling loudly as her walls struggled to open wide enough for him. He felt Athena’s pants of breath against his face as he looked down at her. Her head tilted back onto the floor underneath, her eyes tightly scrunched up and mouth open wide, allowing her breathy moans to be released uncensored into the air.

“Shit, baby. You have to relax. Ugh, you’re so tight.” He muttered, continuing to rock back and forth into her as she opened her eyes slightly, her moans turning into whimpers as she bit her lip and tried to take deeper breaths through her nose to relax her walls so Shikamaru could fully impale himself within her. “Fuck, there you go, baby. You feel so good.” 

Hearing his praises prompted her body to finally fully give way to him, his tip brushing against her cervix as their hip bones connected.

“You’re so big!” Athena whimpered, tears escaping from the corners of her eyes as they closed again. 

He might have worried that he was causing her pain if not for the way her nails dug into the skin of his back. An attempt to anchor herself as she tried to move her hips against his, attempting to gain some friction.

“I don’t think I’m going to last long-”

“I don’t care! Just move!” 

Feeling her legs try to flail against him as she pleaded with him to move, he picked them up and sat them in the crook of his elbows, stopping them from kicking wildly, as he began rocking into her again. Pulling his hips back until just the tip of his cock was still inside her, he listened to her whine loudly as he thrust his hips back forward, choosing to maintain a quick speed to try and force another orgasm from her before he came within her.

Athena’s eyes switched between staying closed to try and focus on the ever tightening feeling between her legs and rolling back into her head. Shikamaru manhandled her body in just the right ways to hit all the places within her that threatened to break her at a moments notice. 

Just before she came, she was able to take in the sight of him above her for the first time in a month; his furrowed brows, closed eyes, gritted teeth, and the sheen of sweat that covered his body. Taking in every detail of her lover in, Athena allowed her body to tighten up completely, only to release and fall limp as she came with a loud cry, her vision blacking out as her orgasm flowed through her. She only came back into herself when she felt Shikamaru dig his teeth into her neck, muffling a growl-like groan as he thrusted a few more times into her before he filled her up with his cum.

They both lie there catching their breath for a few moments before Shikamaru moved Athena’s arms around his neck, telling her to hold on as he moved to sit properly, bringing her with him to sit in his lap so they could stay connected. Feeling her bury her head into his neck, Shikamaru cradled the back of her head as few of her tears fell onto the expanse of his back.

“Hey, you okay?” He whispered, acutely aware of how overwhelming it felt for the both of them emotionally to make love again for the first time in a while, and how overwhelming it must have been physically for Athena’s still recovering body.

“I really missed you.” He heard her mumble, cooing quietly at her statement as he tightened his grip on her, whispering her words back to her, kissing any portion of skin available for his lips to leave their mark. 

Shikamaru prayed Athena couldn’t feel himself harden again inside of her, instantly knowing his prayers had gone unheard as he felt her wiggle her hips slightly. A giggle being released next to his ear as she confirmed her findings when a small groan was released from him. He noticed the shift in his center of gravity before he noticed the weight Athena was putting behind the palms of her hands, pushing his torso back until he hit the floor. Athena followed after him, being sure to move her hands to the side of their bodies to hold herself up without removing his semi-erect cock from her walls.

A few tears still leaked from the corners of her eyes, but he wiped them away with his thumbs as he pulled her towards him to lock their lips together. While furiously making out with each other, Athena grinded her hips slowly against his, both of them having to break away from each other sporadically as breathy moans were pulled from them. Her walls continued to stretch wider to accommodate his size once more. 

Shikamaru’s hands moved to the tops of her thighs, grabbing tightly onto the flesh at the swell of her butt, Athena pulled her lips away from him and moved her hands to the middle of his chest to stabilise herself. Then she raised her hips up and dropped them, biting her lip as she saw the face her lover made as he released a loud groan, his head tilting back as his eyes closed tightly. After a few tries, Athena found a rhythm that was comfortable for her and allowed her to confidently ride Shikamaru, giving her the clarity of mind to whisper out praises to him. She praised him on his size, how well he fit inside her, how good he made her feel, how pretty he looked underneath her; voicing any of the thoughts she had from above him, not used to seeing him from this angle very often. 

As much as Shikamaru found it attractive to see Athena enjoying herself on top of him, he couldn’t truly relax and enjoy her body as it moved above him until she was reminded of who her body belonged to, who allowed her to ride his body like she was now. Reaching his hand up to cup the back of her neck, keeping a firm grip on the sides of her throat, he pulled her down until her breasts were nearly squeezed flat between their bodies and their heads were pressed against the others. 

Having stopped the rolling of her hips, Shikamaru took the opportunity Athena had unknowingly given him and thrust up into her, the head of his dick hitting her cervix straight on, causing her to squeal at the surprising mix of pain and pleasure that shot up her spine. Hearing how loud her reaction had been, he decided to keep his thrusts shallow, changing her reaction from a squeal to multiple small whimpers as he stopped himself from going deep enough within her to rub against the nerve endings that would push her further towards the edge.

“You having fun, baby girl?”

“Ah, ah, yes!” She moaned in response, still distracted by the way his cock felt within her even if he wasn’t hitting her where she needed him most. Because of this, she didn’t seem to notice the way Shikamaru’s eyes darkened at her response, only noticing her mistake when he swapped the hand that was around her neck so he could use it to spank her cheek. He moved her fully onto his lap while holding her down so she couldn’t move against him. 

“No, no, I’m sorry, Sir!” She cried. “Please! I’ll be good! I’m sorry!”

Deciding to let her off just this once, letting it serve as her first and only warning, Shikamaru moved his hand back up to her hair, stroking and moving it out of her face.

“Okay, baby. It’s okay, I forgive you, but you have to be a good girl for me, okay?” 

Nodding frantically, she moved to sit up straight when he prompted her to, waiting for him to give her the okay before continuing to ride him. Her eyes closed to focus as she tried to speed up in her efforts to please him. 

Somewhere deep inside of her, she was panicking, not sure if she was remembering his strict rules for her correctly, or if they had become jumbled up after a month of disuse. Her panic only settled once she felt her body tightening up again, her efforts to keep moving becoming sloppier as she collapsed onto Shikamaru’s chest as she came, her nails scratching down his torso as she tried to find something to ground her.

Shikamaru decided to let Athena’s orgasm settle before he broke the spell she was under. He waited until she attempted to sit back up to continue riding him before he collected her wrists in his hands and flipped them both. Shikamaru was now back on top of her limp body.

It turned out that Athena’s mind had become scrambled in its lustful haze, as Shikamaru delighted to remind her.

“I thought you said you’d be a good girl.” He watched the panic fill her eyes as her mind frantically tried to recall what she had done wrong, obviously coming up blank once her eyes focused on his again.

“I-I’m sorry, Sir.”

“Yeah? But do you know what you’re sorry for?”

“N-no, Sir.” Her reply was mumbled, tears starting to fall from her eyes once more as she let his disappointment penetrate her skin, leaving her desperate to fall back into his favour.

“You don’t cum until you’re told, remember?” 

She nodded frantically back at him, the mess of her mind pulling that memory from its depths and sticking it to her frontal lobe, intent on never forgetting his order again to protect her from feeling his wrath. 

He glared down at her for half a minute longer before grabbing her hip and rolling her onto her front, pleased that she at least still had the muscle memory to pull herself up onto her hands and knees without him having to instruct her. Moving his body until it was over hers, his hardened cock prodding at her entrance once more, he took this one clear-headed moment to check on her, hoping that she hadn’t been hiding herself from him.

“Colour?” He asked her in the calmest voice he could muster with the amount of adrenaline running through him, his face fell as he watched her clench her fists before she answered.

“G-green, but …,” she took an intake of breath to try and placate her heart before she continued speaking, “could you just … say it?” 

Draping his body over her back as lightly as he could, he hooked his chin over her shoulder so she could hear him clearly, no matter what haze her head was currently prisoner to.

“I love you. I love you so much, baby girl. You’re doing so well for me. I forgive you for slipping up, it’s okay.” He whispered his words as gently as he could, pleased when her breaths deepened and he felt her nod against him. “Do you need me to work my way up again?”

“No, please, I need you like this.” 

If Shikamaru started back at zero when she was this aroused, she felt like she might go feral. As much as she needed his praise to quell the small threads of anxiety that threatened to steal her high, she needed him to control her, order her around, punish her when she stepped out of line. She needed him to give her orders so that her own thoughts could finally take a back seat, leaving her free to enjoy the oxytocin that was running rampant around her body.

Slipping back into his role, Shikamaru bit into the junction of her neck, using the pain from his bite to distract Athena as he held his cock up against her slick cunt, removing his teeth the same second he pushed himself completely inside. Closing his eyes for a moment to indulge in the sound of her breathless, wanton moans, he then began thrusting into her harshly, watching her nails try to anchor themselves in the tatami mats beneath them. 

Athena already felt herself losing control after his first few thrusts, the rhythmic slapping of his balls against her causing her to start begging to cum even before she was certain the knot inside of her was close to snapping. She was scared of her oncoming orgasm sneaking up on her without giving her the chance to warn Shikamaru. When she began to beg, his instinctual reaction was to grab ahold of her hair and pull her up so both of their bodies were kneeling, the hand holding her hair moving to circle her waist and keep her body flush against his as he continued to thrust up into her.

“I swore you used to last longer.” He panted, nestling his head over her shoulder so he could watch her breasts bounce in time with his thrusts, “or was my dumb, little cock sleeve holding all of this in and now she can’t control herself any longer.” 

Athena’s head rolled back onto his shoulder as she began losing the strength in her body, still mumbling pleas to her lover to let her cum even as her eyes glossed over and drool began dripping out of the side of her mouth.

Seeing her in such a fucked out state drew Shikamaru right up to the edge of his climax, his balls tightening as he felt the mixture of her slick and the remnants of his previous orgasm run down his shaft as she tightened around him. He could tell Athena was still trying to hold off her orgasm however, her walls fluttering around him instead of fully clamping down to milk his cum from her.

“You going to cum for me, huh? You can cum, baby girl, I’ll even help you.” His words were the only warning she received before he brought his hand down hard against her clit, finally pushing her to cum around him, streams of liquid squirting out of her. He chuckled at her attempts to scream, her mouth wide open as the last squeaks of her voice left her throat, leaving her only with her heavy pants to communicate her pleasure. Slapping her clit a few more times, making her walls contract around him weakly, was all he needed to finally cum. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Athena remembered the feeling of Shikamaru’s cum shooting up inside of her more than she actually remembered him cumming, or her cumming for that matter. The last thing she remembered was Shikamaru gently wiping her body down before she fell asleep, his body heat keeping her warm from behind.

When she awoke, Shikamaru was quick to initiate her aftercare now that she was lucid and able to communicate her needs to him. He took the lead without question by wiping away the remnants of his cum that had leaked out before carrying her back into the warm water of the hot spring. Cradling her body on his lap, they both stayed silent as her body took it’s time to wake up properly, only sharing the briefest of kisses along each other's shoulders until Athena could move so they could sit by his side. Shikamaru still slung his arm over her shoulder, more for his peace of mind than anything else, as he watched her prod at her legs, and the insides of her thighs, to check for any pain.

“Nope. I think I’m all okay, just the normal aches and pains that’ll settle in an hour or so.”

“I’m glad. We should still probably stop for now so you have enough energy to make it home tomorrow.” He suggested, not expecting the splash of water moving from beside him as Athena clambered her way back onto his lap. She was still a bit sluggish from the strain her body had just been through, but Shikamaru still used the grip he had placed on her hips, initially to stabilise her, to move their sexes closer together rather than to push her back to his side, already missing the warmth her insides provided.

“I’m okay, though. I wanna go again before we have to stop.” she pleaded, trying to subtly grind herself along his lap as she felt him start to harden beneath her.

“Baby, please, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I  _ want _ to get hurt, I _ want _ to get fucked out of my mind. Please just take me now and we can play it safe when we get home.” Athena coaxed, positioning her clit over the head of his cock before shifting back and forth, releasing the whimpers that always pushed him to take her how she liked. 

Finally agreeing, Shikamaru grabbed at her thighs and lifted her with him as he sat on one of the smooth rocks surrounding the water before shifting their bodies into position and thrusting up into her. He had to hold onto her back as she moaned out, tilting her body into his and releasing his own groans as her nails took purchase in his skin before he began thrusting in and out of her.

From the start he was already having to fight against her tight walls as they insisted on trying to milk him dry. It didn’t help that his stamina was low after having cum a few times already in the past 24 hours. Still, he felt he was holding out okay until Athena started mumbling over her shoulder as she continued gripping onto his body to keep his body flush against hers. He waited a couple of minutes before stopping and asking her what she was trying to say, not being able to clearly hear what she was saying above a few key words.

“Baby girl, what’re you mumbling?” What he hadn’t expected when he asked was for her to jolt and start shaking her head.

“N-nothing. It’s nothing. I just … I don’t know. Please just keep going.”

“I’m not going to keep going when you act this embarrassed. You know I’m not going to judge you, right?” He tried to lean his head back to look at her, only for her to cling closer to his body so her face could stay hidden from him.Sighing, he decided to try and ask her about the few words he had been able to make sense of. “Sweetheart, did you say something about ‘filling you up’ and breeding you?” From how her body tensed up around his, he figured he was right about what he thought he had heard. “I-is that what you want?” 

As she began to speak, he moved them back into the water, worried she was going to get cold from the open air, while also hoping the warm water would soothe any anxiety she was working through.

“I mean, yeah? But, no? I don’t know, it’s really stupid.” 

When Shikamaru pushed her shoulders back this time, she allowed him to move her to look into each other's eyes. She didn’t know why she had decided to start mumbling out her new, small fantasy, but now she wished they could just forget it. However, it was obvious Shikamaru wasn’t going to let her by the confused look on his face.

“Aren’t you still on your birth control?” His face as he asked comforted her a little, though not fully. He was genuinely trying to understand what she was thinking, trying to figure out what would make her happiest.

“Yeah, I am. And I’m not ready to actually  _ have _ a kid. I just, ah, I don’t know.” Taking a deep breath, Athena tried to straighten her thoughts out, thankful that he wasn’t pushing her to get her thoughts out immediately. “I guess, uh, the  _ thought _ of it happening turns me on? The thought that  _ maybe _ you’ll get me pregnant? I don’t know, I told you it was stupid.” 

She didn’t get time to lament on her words as she was pulled from the water she was previously immersed in, clinging onto Shikamaru desperately as he walked further away from the water and back into their room, snatching their towels as he passed by them. Just as she was about to question him, asking what the hell he was doing, he threw the towels on the floor and knelt down until her wet body hit the fabric below her. 

Now that her body was supported by the floor, Shikamaru used his hands to push her knees until they nearly hit the floor on either side of her torso, her cunt spread open before him as he thrust all the way into her again. Grabbing at her hair, he forced her to look him in the eye, pupils blown as he leaned over her, her calves now hanging over his shoulders.

“Do you know how many times I’ve gotten off to the thought of you swollen full of my seed? The thought of your breasts so full of milk? It’s such a fucking drag, but I can’t get the picture of you growing our kid inside of you out of my head.” Seeing the tears start to well up in her eyes again at his words, he released his grip on her hair and ran his thumbs up and down her cheeks, collecting the few teardrops that managed to fall past her lashes.

“Please, Shika. Please breed me.” 

“Of course, baby.” He responded, letting out a small laugh with the last words that’d be spoken between them. 

He began he kissed her sloppily, pistoning his hips in and out of her as her arousal collected at the base of his shaft, leaving a thick, white ring of her fluid for Shikamaru to groan at anytime he dared to watch how well her tight hole stretched around him. 

Athena didn’t bother counting how many times she came, getting lost in the feeling of his cock massaging her as it went back and forth between her clenching walls, hitting her cervix every second or third thrust. That, combined with the feeling of his pubic bone pushed up against her clit, rubbing it harshly each time he moved, caused her to cum multiple times, every time accompanied with a whimpering moan. She got close to screaming ‘red’ so many times, but he just kept making her feel so good, kept on whispering a combination of the filthiest and the sweetest things she’d ever heard into her ear, knowing exactly what she needed as each second passed to keep her going.

When Shikamaru had finally cum deep within her, almost certainly making its way into her womb even if an egg wasn’t there to meet it, he pulled out and panted above her. This encouraged her to smile with him as he beamed down at her, both of them covered in each other’s sweat. 

“So, you think it’ll take?” He smirked, smiling once again as she breathlessly laughed at him.

“Shut up!” She cackled, pushing against his chest weakly until he finally pulled away from her, gently helping her guide her legs back down to the floor. 

They lie next to each other breathless. Shikamaru waited until it seemed like Athena was breathing normally before taking her hand in his, rubbing his thumb soothingly across her knuckles as he spoke.

“Okay. That’s it. No more until I get you home.” He groaned, feeling his body start to protest, “I’m not carrying you the whole way.”

“Okay. You can carry me only three quarters of the way.” Even though she received a light ‘bap’ on the head for her comment, she smiled at the lack of the word ‘no’ coming from his mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading this silly little side fic of mine! Now back to focusing on the new chapters of He and I...


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